A Yankee Harry Dandy
by Quicksilver2011
Summary: The Dursleys didn't want Harry and sent him to an orphanage in America. He's quickly adopted by a pair of Squibs and raised in a relatively normal American home.  How will he adjust to life at Hogwarts and a strange destiny?
1. Arrival

**Chapter 1: Arrival**

Eleven year old Harry Potter opened his eyes as the Boeing 747 thumped down on the tarmac at London's Heathrow Airport. He yawned widely as he straightened his glasses. The flight between Chicago and London was long, but Harry preferred Muggle transportation for international travel, as international Portkeys made him nauseous and he always tumbled out arse over teakettle whenever he took the Floo, international or not. His parents were quite well off and insisted that he use whatever method of travel he felt most comfortable with. Harry watched the other planes maneuver around the tarmac as his plane made its way to the gate. Once the plane came to a stop he unbuckled his seatbelt, grabbed his knapsack from under the seat in front of him and started making his way off the plane. Several flight attendants tried to engage him in conversation, wondering why an eleven year old was travelling overseas by himself and offering to escort him. He explained that he was going to boarding school and politely declined the offers to escort him, saying he knew where he was going and his ride would be waiting for him outside once he collected his luggage. He retrieved his trunk (Transfigured to look like a Samsonite suitcase) and made his way to the limousine stand. He spotted the driver holding a sign that said 'Potter'. He handed his suitcase to the chauffer to put in the boot and climbed in. He arrived at Kings Cross with about 30 minutes to spare after a leisurely ride in to London. He pulled his lucky Cubs hat out of his pack and pulled it on before entering the station. He had read about how he was the 'Boy-Who-Lived' that vanquished the Dark Lord 'You-Know-Who'. He had groaned in frustration when he read that in the British edition of 'Modern Wizarding History'. _'How is anyone supposed to know who you're talking about if you don't say the name? I'll have to see if I can talk to this Albus Dumbledore, maybe he can shed some light on this subject.' _He shook himself from his musings as he started for the barrier to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. As he passed the barrier between Platforms Eight and Nine he was passed by a large family, all with red hair. He noticed a rather plump woman that he assumed was the mother holding tightly to the only girl in the group. They were surrounded by four boys, two of which appeared to be twins, about 13 or 14 Harry guessed. The oldest boy was already dressed in Wizarding robes with a snooty look on his face. Harry noticed a shiny badge pinned to his robes with a stylized 'P' in the center. _"Must be a school prefect,'_ Harry thought. He glanced at the youngest boy and thought he looked his own age. He was hurrying to catch up with them when he heard the woman call out loudly.

"Platform Nine and Three Quarters this way!"

Harry winced. _'Hasn't this woman heard of the Statute of Secrecy?'_ He approached the family as they stopped at the barrier leading to the magical platform. "Um, I heard you mention Platform Nine and Three Quarters and I was…"

"Wondering how to get onto the platform dear?" asked the woman.

"Um, no, actually I was wondering if you were aware that you were very close to violating the International Statute of Secrecy a moment ago? Or that your son is a walking violation? Wearing Wizarding robes in a Muggle area without a notice me not charm? I don't mean to be rude, but back home the Feds take the secrecy statutes very seriously."

"And just where is it you call home young man?" she asked sternly.

"I live in the United States, but I'm British by birth and I wanted to go to the same school my parents went to," replied Harry.

"I see. Well, we're the Weasleys. I'm Molly, my oldest here is Percy, he's a Prefect this year, the twins are Fred and George, good luck figuring out who's who, even I can't keep them straight all the time. Oh and Ron here is going to be a first year," she said, indicating the youngest boy. She tugged the girl out from behind her where she had been hiding. "And this is my daughter Ginny."

"Well, it's been nice meeting you all." Harry looked at the boys. "I guess I'll either see you on the train or else at school." He waved to the boys and blew a kiss to Ginny before calmly walking through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He hurried to the train and quickly found an empty compartment. He tossed his suitcase on the overhead rack and settled into a seat, pulling out the latest Tom Clancy novel, The Sum of All Fears, and settled back to read. A few minutes later he was interrupted by a knock at the door. He looked up to see a sandy haired boy and a black boy wearing a soccer jersey that Harry assumed was a British team.

"Mind if we join you?" asked the sandy haired boy.

"Sure," replied Harry, getting up to help the boys hoist their trunks into the overhead rack.

"Is that a Samsonite?" asked the black boy, pointing at Harry's suitcase.

"It's actually a trunk about the size of yours, but it's transfigured and shrunk to look like a suitcase. Fewer questions at customs. Let me guess, you're Muggleborn?"

"Half-blood actually. Dad was killed in the war about a month before I was born. Mum was a Muggle, she married another Muggle just before I turned two. I'm Dean, by the way, and this is my best mate Seamus. What did you mean about customs? Did you travel for the hols?"

Harry grinned. "I'm Harry. I actually live in the States. My parents were British but I was sent to an orphanage in Chicago when my mom's sister refused to take me in when they were killed by the Dark Dork whose name no one can say apparently."

"You're Harry Potter aren't you?" asked Seamus.

"Yeah I am," admitted Harry. The three boys sat swapping stories about their parents and childhoods. Both Dean and Seamus turned out to be rabid soccer fans, which they called football, much to Harry's confusion. He tried to explain American football, though he admitted he much preferred baseball. He had a laugh when Seamus compared his Cubbies to the Chudley Cannons after he mentioned that the Cubs hadn't won a World Series championship in decades. Dean and Seamus looked eager to investigate when Harry told them of the myth that the Cubs had been cursed and Harry couldn't help but smirk at the looks on their faces when he told them that the curse theory had been thoroughly investigated and debunked back in the 60's. When the trolley arrived, Harry bought a pile of sweets, dumping it on an empty seat and telling Dean and Seamus to dig in.

After they ate their fill, Dean pulled out a deck of cards and they started a friendly game of poker. Harry suppressed the urge to smile evilly. His dad had taught him how to maintain a poker face as well as how to look for other players' 'tells'. He had the bad luck to get rubbish for the first few hands, but those few hands were all Harry needed to spot Seamus' 'tell'. He noticed that Seamus' eyebrows would twitch whenever the Irishman would bluff. They sat playing happily over candy and Cokes that Harry produced from his backpack. A couple of hours into the ride they were interrupted by a knock on the door. It opened to reveal a pale faced boy with platinum blonde hair and a pointy chin, flanked by two guys that reminded Harry of Kong and Lao, a pair of bouncers he saw in Chinatown. Not in appearance, but the feeling that they were nothing more than dumb muscle was the same.

"My father told me Harry Potter would be on the train. Have any of you seen him?" asked the blonde boy, sneering at Harry's Muggle looking suitcase and backpack.

Harry glanced at Dean and Seamus, silently asking them to stay quiet and follow his lead. "And who might you be?" he asked coolly.

"The name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe and Goyle. My father wanted to make sure he was introduced to the right sort of people. I wouldn't want to see the heir of an Ancient and Noble house corrupted by filth."

'_What an asshole,'_ thought Harry. _'Time to take this arrogant ferret down a peg.'_ He gave Malfoy a stare that had intimidated several bullies back home as he cast a silent, wandless flatulence jinx on Malfoy and his muscle. "I think I'm capable of deciding for myself who is worth hanging out with and who is the filth," he said slowly, lifting his hat and brushing aside his bangs to reveal his lightning bolt shaped scar. He was about to continue when Crabbe and Goyle let out a pair of farts that sounded rather wet. "Sounds like you're the one associating with filth," he said as Draco let out a feminine squeak of a fart and his nose verified his assumption on the wetness of Crabbe and Goyle's farts. "Smells like it too," he said, pinching his nose and palming his wand as Dean and Seamus held their noses, barely suppressing laughter. "Why don't you take your goons and your bigoted opinions and get the hell out of here." He shoved Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle out of the doorway, slamming the door shut and casting a locking charm. "That should keep the garbage out."

Harry, Dean and Seamus continued playing poker for most of the rest of the ride, changing into their uniforms about 10 minutes before the train pulled into Hogsmeade station. Harry pulled down his suitcase and reversed the transfiguration and shrinking charm, revealing a trunk much like Dean and Seamus'. They complimented him on his spellwork, forcing Harry to admit that while he had done the transfiguration someone else had shrunk the trunk first. Leaving their trunks for the house elves, Harry, Dean and Seamus made their way off the train and onto the platform. They heard a booming voice calling, "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" They followed the voice to the edge of the lake and a line of small boats. A large man that Harry thought was either half-giant or hit with an engorgement charm was directing the rest of the first years into the boats.

"No more 'n four to a boat," he rumbled. He looked down at Harry, Dean and Seamus as they approached. "Evenin' boys. Name's Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts and I'd wager me prize hippogriff tha' you're Harry Potter," he said pointing at Harry. "Yer the spittin' image of James in his firs' year. 'Cept yer eye's o' course, yeh got yer mum's eye's."

"Did you know my parents well Mr. Hagrid?" Harry asked curiously.

"Jus' call me Hagrid, Harry and yeah I was pretty good friends with yer mum and dad. I'd love ter share some stories wit' yeh some time. But fer now let's get you into a boat." Hagrid looked around for a moment. "Looks like yer the last ones, so you'll share a boat with me." He tapped an empty boat with his umbrella and the boat grew slightly. "In yeh get," he said, holding the boat steady for the boys before climbing in. With a call of 'Forward!' the boats moved off across the lake.

As the flotilla of boats came around a bend Harry caught his first glimpse of Hogwarts Castle. He thought it an impressive sight and could feel the ancient magic of the castle reaching out to him. Harry couldn't help but notice that the magic of the castle had a welcoming, almost familial feel to it. _'Well, 'Hogwarts: A History' did say that the castle is said to be almost sentient, it probably sees all students as its' family.'_ No sooner did that thought form in Harry's mind than he could almost swear he heard the castle whisper in his ear.

"Not all students, young heir," said the voice.


	2. The Sorting

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, I just have fun playing in Ms. Rowling's sandbox.

**Chapter 2: The Sorting**

Harry shook it off and soon the boat pulled up to a set of underground docks. He and the rest of the first years followed Hagrid up a steep stone staircase and soon found themselves approaching the giant main doors of the castle. Hagrid raised a large fist and knocked three times. A moment later the doors opened to reveal a severe looking woman in tartan robes and her greying hair in a tight bun.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid," she replied, waving the students into the entrance hall. She guided them into a group in front of the doors to the Great Hall. She cleared her throat to get their attention and all idle chatter ceased. "In a few minutes you will enter the hall where you will be sorted into your houses. The four Houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you are here, your house will be like your family. You will sleep in your House dormitories, gather in your House common rooms, and dine at your House tables. The Sorting will begin shortly, I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as best you can," concluded McGonagall, wrinkling her nose at the smell from Malfoy and his bookends, completely ignoring the smudge of dirt on Ron Weasley's nose and how another boys cloak was fastened by his ear. She slipped into the Great Hall and conversations broke out. Harry listened to a girl with bushy brown hair whispering and muttering under her breath and turned to Dean and Seamus.

"How do you think they'll Sort us?" he asked.

"Dunno," replied Dean. "Although, I heard a couple of red head twins telling their brother something about wrestling a troll."

Harry stifled a snort of laughter. "I doubt they'd have first years wrestle a troll. No sense stressing over it though." Before he could continue, Professor McGonagall returned.

"It's time." McGonagall led the first years into the hall. Harry looked up to see that the ceiling appears to be open to the sky.

"It's enchanted to look like the sky outside," came a female voice from behind him. Harry looked and saw the bushy haired girl looking at him. "I read all about it in Hog…"

"Hogwarts: A History. Yes, I've read it too," said Harry. He noticed they were nearly to the front of the hall. "Perhaps we can continue this conversation later, Miss…?"

"Granger, Hermione Granger."

"I'm Harry." He heard Professor McGonagall clear her throat to get their attention. Harry looked up to see her place a patched and worn hat on a stool. Soon a rip opened up in the brim of the hat and it started singing.

_(A/N: Just read the song in Sorcerer's Stone… It's the same in this story and I don't feel like copying it out _

Harry listened to the Hat's song, paying particular attention to what each House looked for. Bravery for Gryffindor, intelligence for Ravenclaw, ambition for Slytherin and loyalty for Hufflepuff. _'Well damn, I would fit anywhere if you follow those criteria,'_ thought Harry. He decided to watch who went where and see what the Sorting Hat said.

"When I call your name, you will come forward, I will place the Sorting Hat on your head and you will be sorted into your House." She unrolled a roll of parchment. "Hannah Abbot!"

Harry watched each student as they were called up to try on the Sorting Hat. Some took longer than others but Harry did his best to match names to faces. He was going to try to memorize their House as well, but decided not to bother for the time being when he saw that the trim and crest on each student's robes changed to match the House colors and crest of their new House. He watched Seamus and the bushy haired girl Hermione get sorted into Gryffindor and saw that arrogant brat Malfoy and his muscle Crabbe and Goyle sorted into Slytherin. _'I hope I don't get sorted into Slytherin,'_ Harry thought to himself.

"Harry Potter!" called Professor McGonagall.

The Great Hall was silent as Harry walked up to the stool. He sat down and allowed McGonagall to place the Sorting Hat on his head. He panicked momentarily as he felt what seemed like fingers riffling through his thoughts and memories.

_*Don't worry Mr. Potter,*_ the Sorting Hat said in Harry's head. _*Anything I see here stays between us. I just need a bit of information to know where to put you. You are actually quite easy to place, though some would say I should always Sort a Parselmouth into Salazar's noble house, but you, young heir, belong in the House of your ancestor Godric…*_

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the Sorting Hat.

Harry dramatically swept the hat off his head and handed it to Professor McGonagall before making a beeline for a waving Seamus who was holding him a seat at the Gryffindor table. He passed the Weasley twins, who were dancing on the bench chanting, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" He noticed that the eldest Weasley brother was also sitting at the Gryffindor table and he was giving Harry a sour look. _'I guess House can run in the family. I need to find out what House my mom and dad were in,'_ thought Harry. He crossed his fingers and hoped that Dean would join him and Seamus. He whistled and shouted with glee as Dean was Sorted into Gryffindor. Harry and Seamus exchanged hi-fives with Dean before he sat in a free seat next to Harry. His theory about House and family was strengthened a few minutes later as Ron Weasley became the last to join Gryffindor House. He sat across from Harry and immediately apologized for the looks Percy was giving him.

"Percy's a right git. He's been gloating all summer about being made a prefect. He got so bad that Fred and George wouldn't stop pranking him till Mum threatened to call our oldest brother Bill."

"Just how many brothers do you have?" asked Harry.

"Five. Besides Percy and the twins there's Bill, he's a curse breaker for Gringott's, and Charlie. He just finished Hogwarts and now he's in Romania studying dragons."

The hall fell silent as a man Harry recognized from Chocolate Frog cards as Headmaster Dumbledore stepped up to a podium in front of the teachers' table. "Before we begin our marvelous feast I would like to say a few words. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" He waved his hands and any comments Harry might have wanted to make died on his lips as food appeared on the table in front of him. He shook his head and dug in. As they ate, Ron continued his explanation of Percy's attitude towards Harry.

"Percy's a real stickler for rules and regulations," said Ron. At least that's what Harry thought he said, as Ron was talking with his mouth full of food.

"Ron, chew, swallow, then speak. I can't understand a word you're saying when you talk with your mouth full. I don't care about fancy table manners but that's just gross."

Ron swallowed and repeated what he said. "So when you called him a walking violation of the Secrecy Laws he got kind of offended. After we got through the barrier he started ranting about arrogant Yanks and snotty brats. I was looking at him when your name was called and I could tell he realized that it was the famous Harry Potter who had dressed him down. The look on his face was priceless."

"Let me guess, he's the sort who'll snitch on someone at the drop of a hat?" asked Harry.

"Too right. He's never managed to catch Fred and George in one of their pranks here at Hogwarts though."

Harry's eyes lit up at Ron's mention of pranks, a wicked grin forming on his lips. "That's the second time I've heard you mention pranks and your brothers in the same sentence. They sound like they could be either exciting competition or valuable partners. Do you think you could introduce me properly sometime?"

"Sure thing," said Ron.

After everyone had eaten their fill, including some delicious desserts Harry had never tried before, Dumbledore stood and waved his hands for quiet. "To our new students, welcome! And to our returning students, welcome back! Now that we have filled our bellies with this marvelous feast I have a few start of term announcements to make. First, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, would like me to remind you that magic in the halls is prohibited and that he has added Fanged Frisbees and Biting Teacups to the list of prohibited items. The full list is posted on his office door. Also the Forbidden Forest is of course forbidden to all students," he said, giving a pointed looked to Fred and George. "And this year the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a terrible death. Now, off to bed, pip pip."

The hall started getting noisy as students got up and began heading for the doors. Harry heard several voices calling for first years to follow them, including Percy calling for the Gryffindors. Harry wrinkled his nose at the thought of following the snob anywhere but sighed and joined the rest of the Gryffindor first years in following Percy through the castle. They climbed what seemed like miles of stairs before coming to a stop in front of a portrait of a rather obese woman in a pink dress.

"Password?" asked the portrait.

Percy gave the password (Caput Draconis) and ushered Harry and the rest of the first years into a large common room. "This is the Gryffindor Common Room. Boys' dormitories are up the stairs to the left, girls' the same on the right. For now just find a seat, our Head of House will be along shortly to speak with you before bed." Percy waited in a corner until McGonagall arrived before disappearing up the stairs to his dormitory.

McGonagall stood in front of the large fireplace and motioned for the first years to gather around her. She gave a brief lecture on what was expected of them as members of Gryffindor House and a brief rundown of the school rules, as well as informing them of when meals are served in the Great Hall.

"Now, off to bed with you. You will receive your class schedules in the morning at breakfast. Mr. Potter, a moment please.

Harry waved for Dean and Seamus to head up to the dorm. "Yes, Professor?" he asked politely.

"Mr. Potter, the Headmaster would like to see you in his office before you go to bed." McGonagall lead Harry to the second floor and stopped in front of a stone gargoyle. "Lemon Drop." The gargoyle stepped aside to reveal a spiral staircase. "I trust you can find your way back to Gryffindor Tower on your own?" Harry nodded. "Off you go then, the Headmaster is waiting for you. Harry stepped onto the first stair and the entire staircase began moving upwards. When he reached the top, Harry stepped of the staircase and walked down the short hallway to the Headmaster's office. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but before he could do so, the door swung open and the Headmaster's voice drifted out.

"Come in, Harry."

A/N: Just wanted to answer a couple of questions I was asked in reviews. Obviously, Harry is a Gryff, I just couldn't really see him anywhere else, not when I intend for him to be good friends with Dean and Seamus. More info about his adopted parents (who are Squibs, not Muggles) will come in bits throughout the story, though one of his more distant adopted relations will be a bit of a crossover. He won't actually be seen until Christmas, though Harry will use some of that character's catchphrases.


	3. Dumbledore, Dorms and Reveille

A/N: I mentioned the inclusion of a crossover character at the end of the last chapter but that he wouldn't be seen until Christmas in the story. He still probably won't be seen till then, but recent news prompted me to include references to him. Oh, and I don't own anything but the plot bubbling in my brain.

**Chapter 3: Dumbledore, Dorms and Revielle**

"_Come in, Harry"_

Harry walked into the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore rose as Harry entered and waved for him to sit. "Please have a seat Harry. Lemon drop?" he inquired.

"No thank you sir," replied Harry as he sat down in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"I am rather disappointed in you, Harry, though I am glad to see you attending Hogwarts," said Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling.

Harry looked at Dumbledore, nonplussed. "Sir? I'm confused. I have been in this castle for less than six hours and for the life of me I can't think off a single thing that I've done that could make you disappointed in me."

"I'm disappointed that you left the protection of your family."

Harry wanted to scream. _'First he says he's glad I came to Hogwarts then he says he's disappointed that I left the protection of my family! I wish he'd make up his mind. I know a kid is safer with their family but he makes it sound like it's not safe for me to leave home even to come to school!"_

"You seem to be contradicting yourself, Headmaster. I know Mom and Dad were kinda sad that I was traveling thousands of miles to go to school and worried that they couldn't protect me, but they realize that I know how to defend myself," replied Harry.

"I refer to your maternal aunt's family, Harry. Your true family," replied Dumbledore. If anything his eyes began twinkling even more and Harry felt a tickle in his head.

'_He's a Legillimens!'_ Harry had never felt gladder that Pappy insisted that Harry learn Occlumency than he did at that moment. He gave a mental push and suppressed a grin as he saw Dumbledore wince as he was thrown from Harry's mind. "Horse hockey!" Harry shouted as he stood and pulled a sheet of parchment and a sheet of Muggle paper from the back pocket of his jeans. He slapped the parchment down on Dumbledore's desk. "Look familiar, Headmaster? No? It's a letter from you, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, addressed to one Petunia Evans Dursley asking her to take me in." Harry tossed the piece of Muggle stationary onto the desk. "This is a letter from Mrs. Dursley saying that they don't want anything to do with her sister including quote, 'her freakish brat,' unquote. My true family is the one back in Chicago that raised me and cared for me, not someone I happen to be related to who didn't even want me when her sister was killed."

"Who taught you Occlumency, Harry?" asked Dumbledore angrily.

"Pappy taught me. Said it was one of the most useful skills he ever learned, that it kept him from going crackers during the wars. He also encouraged me to find out as much as I can about my birth parents. If there's nothing else sir, I'd really like to get to bed," said Harry with a yawn.

Dumbledore waved his hand in vague dismissal. Harry grabbed the letters and stuffed them back in his pocket before hurrying out of the office. _'Who does he think he is?'_ thought Harry angrily as he made his way back to Gryffindor Tower. _'I need to write Pappy and thank him for teaching me Occlumency. The nerve of him! I wonder if using Legilimency on a minor is as illegal here as it is in America.'_ He gave the Fat Lady the password and hurried through the empty Common Room and climbed the stairs to the first year boys' dorm. He found that Dean and Seamus had waited up for him, as well as Ron and a chubby, round faced boy that Harry remembered was named Neville Longbottom. "I wish I could sic the Feds on that old coot," grumbled Harry as he opened his trunk and pulling out a pair of sweatpants and his lucky basketball jersey. "They'd give him 5 years in Alcatraz for what he tried to do," he said as he started changing for bed. He heard Seamus call his name.

"Harry? You all right, mate? What did the Headmaster want?"

"Bastard starts off by saying how disappointed he is in me. Oh, but then he's glad I came to Hogwarts."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" blurted Ron.

"He didn't say why he was glad I came to Hogwarts but apparently I disappointed him by being adopted and raised in the States when my only blood relation didn't want anything to do with me. He called them my 'true' family."

"That's crazy!" shouted Dean indignantly. "You were only a baby! Bad enough that your relatives were heartless bastards but to act like it's your fault?"

"Then what happened?" asked Ron.

"And what are the Feds?" asked Seamus.

"And what's Alcatraz?" asked Neville.

"Time out!" yelled Harry. "One at a time! Now, Feds is slang used mainly to refer to either the Muggle FBI; they're kinda like Scotland Yard, or any member of the Magical Law Bureau of the Department of Magic. The Department is kind of like your Ministry though unlike your Minister the Secretary of Magic is a full member of the President's Cabinet. There're even a few witches and wizards in Congress, not that they advertise that fact though. Alcatraz is our Wizarding Prison, like Azkaban but without the Dementors."

"You don't have Dementors?" asked Neville.

"Oh, we have Dementors in America, just a few rouge colonies in the Rockies and around the Alaskan oil fields though. Nasty things." Harry shuddered in revulsion at the thought of the soul sucking monsters. "As for the Headmaster, don't look him in the eyes unless you want to risk him tiptoeing through your thoughts.

Neville gasped. "Professor Dumbledore is a Legillimens? I'm glad my Gran taught me Occlumency. I don't like the idea of a teacher being able to read my thoughts."

"That's exactly what the old man tried to do. He tried to be subtle about it but I'm good enough at Occlumency that I felt him trying to worm his way into my head and I threw him out. If he had tried the brute force approach I still would have felt it but I'm not strong enough to repel brute force. Pappy says not to worry though. He told me to keep practicing and my shields will get stronger as I get older."

"Is Pappy a member of your family? Your adopted family I mean?" asked Dean.

"As far as I'm concerned they're my family, period. But yeah he's my mom's, mom's dad, my great-great grandpa. But enough about me, tell me a bit about you."

The boys traded stories for a while before they crawled into bed and fell asleep.

-000-

_Gryffindor first year girls' dorm_

Lavender Brown sat gossiping with her best friend Parvati Patil. They briefly expressed their disappointment that Parvati's twin sister Padma wasn't with them, but consoled themselves with the knowledge that they had at least one friend in another House. They were both obsessed with fashion, makeup and especially boys. They first discussed some of the older boys before turning their attention to those of their own year.

"Can you believe it, Parv?" bubbled Lavender. "No one's heard from the 'Boy-Who-Lived' in almost ten years and then he shows up here at Hogwarts looking just as handsome as the stories said he was."

Parvati just sighed. "Lav, you do know those stories are all fiction? You said it yourself, no one's heard from him in ten years. He's probably nothing like he is in the stories."

"Well, he obviously isn't exactly poor; did you see the clothes he was wearing?"

"Money isn't everything you know. Just look at the Malfoy's. They're loaded and Draco is one of the biggest plonkers I've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, Potter's got good taste in clothes, but I think I'd rather wait and see what kind of person he is first."

-000-

_Slytherin Common Room_

"Potter's going to pay for not accepting my offer of friendship," growled Draco Malfoy. He looked around at the rest of the Slytherin first years. "That miserable half-blood needs to be reminded of his place."

-000-

_Gryffindor first year boys' dorm Sept. 2, 5am_

Harry woke up early the next morning. He pulled on a pair of socks and his Air Jordan's before grabbing a notepad and pencil from his trunk and heading down to the Common Room to write a letter to Pappy.

_Dear Pappy Sherm,_

_I know you're probably wondering why I'm writing when I've only been here one night, but what a night! I hadn't even seen my dorm room when I was summoned to the Headmaster's office. Boy am I glad Mom and Dad gave me copies of those letters. He tried telling me that the Dursley's are my 'true family' just because one of them is Lily Evans Potter's sister. Thanks again for insisting that I learn Occlumency, by the way. Turns out Dumbledore is a Legillimens, a pretty good one too, but he tried being too subtle about trying to riffle through my thoughts. The man reminds me a bit of that gooney bird General Bartford Hamilton Steele in one of your old war stories._

_I met someone here at Hogwarts who says he knew my birth parents pretty well. His name's Hagrid, he's the Gamekeeper here. He's HUGE! He's either half-giant or he got hit with an overpowered growth charm. I hope to get a chance to talk to him and learn something about the Potters._

_Over and out,_

_Harry_

Harry folded the letter and stuffed it in one of the preaddressed envelopes he had gotten from Gringott's before he left. The envelope would be taken to the London branch of Gringott's and sent via goblin portal to St. Louis, then USPS to Hannibal. _'I'll take this up to the Owlery after my run,'_ he thought to himself.

He headed back up the stairs to his dorm and met Dean coming out of the bathroom, yawning.

"Morning Harry, you're up early"

"Wanted to write a letter to Pappy. I was just going to drop it in my trunk and then go for a morning run. Care to join me?"

"Sure. Just give me a few minutes to get dressed and I'll meet you down in the Common Room."

Harry put his letter in his trunk and went down to the Common Room to wait for Dean. After about ten minutes Harry was about to go back upstairs to see what was taking Dean so long when he came down the stairs, followed closely by Seamus.

"Sorry we took so long, Harry," said Seamus. "I woke up while Dean was getting dressed and he told me the two of you were going for a run and Dean asked me if I wanted to join you. I said yeah but I needed to use the loo."

The three boys headed out, breaking into a light jog as soon as they were outside, deciding to run to the Quiddich pitch and do a few laps around the pitch before heading back to Gryffindor Tower for a shower. They finished their showers and went to get dressed. Neville was just finishing getting dressed while Ron was still in bed, snoring away. They quickly dressed and debated whether to wake Ron or not. Harry dug in his trunk and pulled out a battered looking bugle with several runes etched into the bell and mouthpiece. He smirked a he raised the instrument to his lips. He began to blow through the bugle and it began playing reveille at a window rattling volume. Dean, Neville and Seamus started laughing as Ron flung himself out of his bed with a yell, scrabbling wildly for his wand before landing on the floor with a thump.

"Rise and shine, soldier!" barked Harry.

"Bloody hell, what was that?" Ron looked up as Percy burst in the door.

Percy looked around the room and saw his brother lying on the floor in his underwear while three of his roommates stood off to the side laughing hysterically, with that brat Potter at the foot of Ron's bed holding a bugle and struggling to contain his own laughter. _'What did Potter do to my brother? Just who the HELL does he think he is, attacking him on the first day of school?'_

"Potter! What do you think you're doing? Detention for attacking another student!" bellowed Percy.

Harry turned and smirked at Percy. "I don't think I'll be serving a detention for attacking another student since I didn't attack another student. Ron was still asleep, so I decided to give him a wakeup call with this." He held up the bugle. "I played reveille, like this…" He lifted the bugle to his lips but Percy yanked it away before he could start playing.

"You do know that charming Muggle artifacts is illegal, don't you?" he said, pointing at the runes etched into the instrument. "You're in trouble now, Potter." Percy turned and walked out of the dorm muttering, "Walking rules violation indeed. Hypocrite."

Harry was furious. "Looks like I need to add a bit more to my letter," he said.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the late Harry Morgan AKA Col. Sherman T. Potter AKA 'Pappy'

"The man didn't have an unadoreable bone in his body." – Alan Alda


	4. Snape

A/N: My apologies for how long it took me to get this chapter up compared to the previous ones. December 13 marked one year since my mom passed away from breast cancer, and the memory of that and the fact that I, along with my brother and her sister, had to make the very difficult decision to "pull the plug" made me rather depressed and made going to work a struggle, to say nothing of trying to write. But here you go.

**Chapter 4: Snape**

Harry grabbed his letter, telling Ron he better hurry if he wanted to have breakfast before class. The other four boys made their way to the Great Hall. They loaded their plates, particularly Harry, Dean and Seamus, having ravenous appetites after their run. Ron finally joined them when they were almost finished. Ron had barely begun eating when they were approached by Professor McGonagall, who was being followed by a smirking Percy.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley tells me that you attacked his brother in your dorm this morning and that you are refusing to serve a detention for it," said McGonagall.

"That's a lie!" shouted Ron. At least that's what he tried to shout. He had barely said 'That's' before he was silenced by Percy.

"Shut it Ronald!" growled Percy.

McGonagall flicked her wand at Ron, dispelling the silencing charm. "As your brother was the one you say was attacked, why don't we let him speak for himself?"

"But Professor, he's just blinded by Potter's fame!" whined Percy.

"Are you going to say Dean, Seamus and Neville are blinded by my supposed fame, too? 'Cause they were there and saw what happened. The four of us were dressed and ready to come down to breakfast but Ron was still sound asleep. I didn't think he wanted to miss breakfast so I decided to wake him up."

"Is this true Mr. Weasley?" McGonagall asked Ron.

"It's true Professor," said Ron, glaring at Percy. "He used a bugle to play some loud music to wake me up. I fell out of bed and Percy burst into the dorm. He saw me on the floor and the rest of them laughing and I_ assumed_ that Harry had attacked me. He was explaining what he did when the prat took Harry's bugle, saying it's an illegally charmed Muggle object."

McGonagall turned back to Percy whose face was beginning to turn scarlet. "Just what caused you to think it was illegally charmed and what did you do with the object after you confiscated it?"

"It had clearly visible runes etched into the bell and I turned it into Mr. Filch," muttered Percy.

"Some of them are to hide all the runes from Muggles. Pappy Sherm made it for his company clerk when he got tired of his horrible bugle playing. The runes allow someone to play bugle calls properly. I don't know about British laws, but in America enchanting an object like that is only illegal if the enchantment causes the object to perform a function it was not designed for. A bugle is designed to play musical calls used by the United States Army for various purposes, such as reveille to wake people up in the morning, which is what I did to wake up Ron."

"Percy's just miffed because Harry called him a walking rules violation at King's Cross yesterday," said Ron. "As he left our dorm he said 'Walking rules violation indeed.' Then he called Harry a hypocrite."

McGonagall was furious. She gave Percy an icy glare. "Ten points from Gryffindor Mr. Weasley, for falsely accusing another student. I will collect Mr. Potter's bugle from Mr. Filch and have Professor Flitwick examine it. If the runes are indeed invisible to Muggles as Mr. Potter says, then you will also lose your prefect badge. For a prefect to harass a first year is reprehensible." She handed the five first years their schedules. "Oh, and five points to Gryffindor, Mr. Potter, for making a clear legal argument. If your bugle is as you say, it is legal and will be returned to you by the end of the week."

"Thank you, Professor," said Harry politely. The boys finished their breakfasts and headed off to their first class. Harry decided not to add the bugle incident to his letter since he knew he was going to get it back.

The first few days of classes went smoothly for the most part. Harry was disappointed that the History of Magic teacher, Binns, was a ghost with a fixation for goblin rebellions and frustrated that Professor Quirril, who taught Defense Against The Dark Arts, stuttered so badly Harry could only make out about one word in ten. He thought it was way cool that Professor McGonagall was an Animagus. She was a stern woman who didn't tolerated fooling around in class, but her lectures were both informative and interesting. He couldn't help but smile at Professor Flitwick's enthusiasm and struggled to keep from laughing when the little Professor squeaked and fell off his chair when he read Harry's name when taking attendance. In Herbology he discovered that Neville had the proverbial green thumb even though he struggled a bit in other classes. He offered to help Neville with some of his other classes if he would help Harry with Herbology. "I'm better with animals than plants." Neville eagerly accepted and began spending an hour or two studying with Harry, usually joined by Dean and Seamus. All that changed on Friday however.

The day started off well enough. He had received a note from Hagrid inviting him to tea that afternoon to hear some stories about James and Lily Potter. He invited Dean and Seamus to join him, who readily accepted. They polished off their breakfasts and headed for the dungeons and their first Potions lesson with the Slytherins. Harry loved brewing potions. He felt it was the perfect blend of subtle intuition and benchmark precision. He eagerly found an empty table in the front of the class while Dean and Seamus threw chops to see who would partner with Harry. Dean won and took the seat next to Harry while Seamus sat at the table behind them. The remainder of the class soon filtered in. Harry noticed that Gryffindor generally sat with Gryffindors and Slytherins with Slytherins, the only exception being Hermione who sat with one of the Slytherin girls, Daphne Greengrass. He heard the door slam and Professor Snape swept into the room, his robes billowing behind him while his greasy black hair hung limply around his sallow face.

"There will be no foolish wand waving in this class. As such, I doubt many of you will appreciate the delicate art and subtle science that is Potion making. In this class I will teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper in death." He swept his black eyes over the class before stopping on Harry. "Ah, Mr. Potter, our new celebrity." He stared at Harry for a moment and Harry felt the subtle pressure of Legilimency pushing at his mental barriers. Harry decided not to openly antagonize the greasy twit and let him into his mind, steering him into a memory of a gory scene from the last Freddie Kruger movie. "Potter! What would you get if you added powdered asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

'_That's an awfully advanced question to be asking a first year,'_ thought Harry. "By themselves, nothing. Though they are the active ingredients in the Living Death potion," Harry replied.

"And where would you look if I asked you to find me bezoar?"

'_This guy doesn't give up, does he?'_ thought Harry. _'Time for a little attitude.'_ Harry smirked and pointed at the supply cabinet.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter. Now, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Harry sighed heavily. "Not a damn thing, Professor. They're the same plant, also called aconite. And a bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat and can cure most poisons."

"Another ten points, Potter," snarled Snape. He spun around, waving his wand at the blackboard. "Today you will be brewing a simple potion to cure boils. Directions are on the board, you have until the end of class. Get to work."

"What a git," muttered Dean as he and Harry set up their cauldrons. "That first question was NEWT level. And the others weren't exactly easy either."

Harry just smiled as they made their way to the supply cabinet. "I've already had six years of magical education, so those questions were a walk in the park." They got the supplies they needed and returned to their seats to begin working on their potions. Harry took out his wand and twirled it over his cauldron and a shimmering dome appeared over his cauldron. Dean looked at him curiously. "At Burnham someone was always trying to sabotage my potion, so Potions Master Ervin taught me this neat little charm to protect my work." He quickly did the same over Dean's cauldron. Dean began preparing their ingredients while Harry began reading the directions on the board. He noticed that one of the instructions didn't look quite right, so he flipped open his book and looked up the potion. _'Aha, I thought so.'_ He looked around for Snape and saw him stalking around near the back of the classroom, sneering at his fellow Gryffindors' work while expansively praising the Slytherins'. He turned to Dean and whispered, "Ignore step three on the board and use the book. Professor Snape put the wrong instructions up there. I don't know if it was on purpose or not, but I'm not taking any chances." Dean nodded and flipped his book open to the correct page as well.

Class was nearly over before Snape stalked over to Harry and Dean's table. He looked down at Harry's perfectly made potion and sneered. "Pathetic, Potter. _Evanesco."_ Snape's Vanishing spell hit Harry's protection charm and fizzled. Snape growled and turned to look at Dean's equally perfect potion and tried to Vanish it as well, with the same results. "Fifty points from each of you and detention for the both of you." He turned and swept away, his robes billowing while his greasy hair did not move.

Harry calmly filled two vials with his potion, telling Dean to do the same. "I'm going to get it independently checked. I don't trust him to grade my potion objectively." Dean quickly followed Harry's advice and filled two vials, handing one to Harry. They both labeled their other vials and placed it with their classmates' on Snape's desk to be graded before quickly cleaning up after themselves. They left the classroom and headed for the Great Hall for lunch.

After lunch they dropped their bags off in their dorm. They found Seamus pacing and swearing in Irish. He looked up as Harry and Dean walked in.

"What's wrong Seamus?" asked Harry.

"Hey guys. Sorry, I'm just swearing at myself for not asking you to do that protection charm for me, too. Though I am glad I listened to what you said about the instructions. That bastard Vanished my potion while you two were turning yours in."

"Don't worry about it, Seamus. I'll teach you both the charm before our next Potions class. For now though we're going to see McGonagall to tell her what happened."

The three of them went to McGonagall's office and knocked on the door, only entering at her call of 'Come in!' She looked up as they walked in. "Ah, Mr. Potter, I was just about to come find you." She pulled Harry's bugle from a drawer and handed it to him. "Professor Flitwick has thoroughly checked it and found it to be just as you had said. He said that it was some inspired rune work and asked if you would be willing to introduce him to the one who did it."

"I'll ask Pappy," promised Harry.

"Thank you," said McGonagall. "Now, I heard about what happened in your Potions class this morning from Professor Snape. Needless to say, I don't trust his judgment in this matter." She stood and pulled a small stone basin from a cabinet behind her. "This is a Pensieve," she said, setting it on her desk.

"What does it do?" asked Dean.

"It allows a person to view memories," said Harry before McGonagall could answer. "Pappy has one and showed me how they work."

"Five points to Gryffindor, Mr. Potter. That is correct. Would the three of you be willing to share your memories of what happened this morning?"

Harry nodded and placed his wand to his temple and slowly withdrew a long silvery strand, placing it in the basin. He turned to Dean and Seamus, who had looks of confusion on their faces. "I'll help you, just concentrate on the memory you want to share." He placed his wand on Dean's temple and slowly withdrew the memory before placing it in the bowl with his own. He repeated the process for Seamus.

"Thank you boys," said McGonagall. "I'll review these memories after my last class this afternoon. Come see me after dinner." They thanked her and left the office.

A/N: Four down, ? to go… Next chapter will be visiting with Hagrid, and maybe their first flying lesson from Hooch… Not that Harry's going to need it *grin*


	5. Minerva on the Warpath

**A/N:** Yadda Yadda Yadda.. You know the drill I don't own Harry Potter, I don't own M*A*S*H either. Just using them for a bit of pleasure :-)

**Chapter 5: Minerva on the Warpath**

Minerva McGonagall was red faced with fury after watching the boys' memories in her Pensieve. _'That man has gone too far!' _she thought angrily. _'He told me that he took the points because the boys had sabotaged Mr. Malfoy's potion and never even mentioned the detentions! I don't care how much Albus says he trusts Snape, that man is a menace and doesn't belong in a school teaching children!'_ She remembered that Snape was currently teaching a class of third years, Gryffindors and Slytherins to be precise. She scooped the memories out of her Pensieve with her wand and placed them in an unbreakable vial. She tucked the vial in her robes as she stormed out of her office, heading for the dungeons. She drew her wand as she approached the Potions classroom. The door slammed open with a flick of her wand and she strode in just in time to see one of his Slytherins levitating something over one of the Weasley twins' cauldron while Snape sat at his desk watching. She swiftly summoned the object and had Snape bound and silenced before he could open his mouth.

"A weeks detention and one hundred points from Slytherin, Mr. Montague, for attempting to sabotage another students work! Now, the rest of you are dismissed. Mr. Montague and Professor Snape will be accompanying me to see the Headmaster." She looked at the instructions Snape had written on the board to see what potion he had them working on and asked George what step he was on, who promptly answered her. "Twenty points to Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley for such a prompt answer." She looked at the object in her hand and immediately realized what effect it would have had on the potion at that point in the brewing process. She spotted Montague attempting to slip out of the classroom and promptly petrified him as well. The remainder of the class hustled to clean up as McGonagall levitated Snape and Montague out of the classroom.

When she arrived at the stone gargoyle, she gave the password and carelessly levitated the two Slytherins up the spiral staircase, though Snape received the worst treatment, knocking his head against the walls several times. Without bothering to knock she strode into Dumbledore's office and unceremoniously dropped Snape and Montague on the floor.

"What is the meaning of this, Minerva?" asked Dumbledore.

"Bring out your Pensieve, Albus. I have a few things I want to show you," she snarled.

Dumbledore frowned but said nothing as he stood to retrieve his Pensieve. He set the stone basin on his desk as Minerva withdrew the vial containing the three Gryffindors' memories. She uncorked the vial and poured the silvery strands into the Pensieve before placing the tip of her wand to her temple and withdrawing her memory of what she had seen when she entered the Potions classroom. She glared at Snape before turning to Dumbledore.

"The first three memories are of Professor Snape's first year Potions class from this morning, and mine is the reason Mr. Montague is here as well," said McGonagall tartly.

"Minerva, I trust Sever…"

"This has nothing to do with whether you trust him or not. This has to do with his deplorable conduct as a teacher. Watch the memories Dumbledore!" ordered McGonagall, prodding the swirling memories with her wand and tapping several runes on the rim, causing the memories to appear as a three dimensional image over the Pensieve. She glared at Dumbledore as the three identical memories from the three Gryffindor boys played out, occasionally tapping a few runes to 'fast-forward' through irrelevant or redundant portions of the memories. Dumbledore watched the memories with seeming disinterest, nearly causing McGonagall to hex him. Fortunately the memories of the first years' class finished before she lost her temper as he did seem to pay closer attention to her memory.

"I fail to see the point in showing me these memories, Minerva. You should have let Severus handle disciplining Mr. Montague. And what precisely do those other three identical memories have to do with you petrifying them?" asked Dumbledore after the memories finished playing.

"Apparently you are not as brilliant as you claim, if you can turn a blind eye on his obvious bias against Gryffindors in general and Mr. Potter in particular. He sat and watched Mr. Montague attempt to sabotage a Gryffindor's potion in a potentially fatal fashion!" she shrieked.

Snape apparently had had enough and managed to break McGonagall's petrification of him enough to speak. "It was just a prank and you are not a potions master, Minerva," he drawled sarcastically. "And Potter is just like his father, arrogant, self-absorbed…"

"You are proving my point Severus! You clearly are unable to put aside your animosity for a man who has been dead for nearly ten years and behave in a professional manner. I have also listened to ten years of complaints about your bias towards your own house. Had it been a Gryffindor you would have levied at least the same punishment if not screaming for their expulsion. Tell me Albus, what effect would this," Minerva slapped the piece of boomslang skin she had summoned from Montague on Dumbledore's desk, "have on the potion that class was brewing?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "I believe the punishment you have already given Mr. Montague is sufficient. I trust that Mr. Filch will be acceptable to oversee his detention?"

McGonagall nodded and released Montague before shooing him out the door. She turned around and glared at Snape before releasing him as well.

"Headmaster, you assured me that I would be allowed to deal with discipline in my classes without interference," snarled Snape. "Potter disrespected a teacher, in addition to casting spells in class!"

"Then how do you justify your punishment of Mr. Thomas?" asked McGonaagall.

Snape sneered at her before replying. "He has obviously been taken in by the brat's so-called fame."

"Enough! Mr. Thomas' punishment is revoked but Mr. Potter's shall stand and I will oversee his detention myself instead of Severus," said Dumbledore. "Eight o'clock tonight."

McGonagall studied both the Headmaster and Snape's faces for a moment before nodding sharply to Dumbledore, glaring at Snape and cast a meaningful glance at Fawkes, Phoenix of Hogwarts. Most people thought that Fawkes was Dumbledore's familiar, but being the Head of Gryffindor House as well as Deputy Headmistress, Minerva knew better. For Fawkes was originally companion to Lord Godric Gryffindor, one of the four Founders of Hogwarts, and had bonded himself to Hogwarts and hence to any worthy heir of Lord Gryffindor. Fawkes winked at Minerva before looking sadly at the politically and magically powerful yet woefully unworthy Headmaster and self-proclaimed Leader of the Light. Minerva breathed a mental sigh of relief, knowing that Fawkes would restrain the Headmaster if he started getting too far out of line. She turned and left the office, casting a quick Tempus charm as she hurried down the spiral staircase. Dinner was just starting, so she headed for the Great Hall to look for Harry and Dean. She saw the two boys sitting with Mr. Finnegan and calmly approached her students.

"Mr. Thomas, Mr. Potter, I have good news and I have bad news regarding your potions class this morning. Mr. Thomas, the points that were taken have been returned and you will not have to serve the detention. Unfortunately Mr. Potter, the Headmaster upheld your punishment, though he will oversee your detention at eight o'clock tonight. There is a phoenix in the Headmaster's office. If you feel threatened by the Headmaster at any time during your detention, look to Fawkes and he will protect you."

"Thanks for the warning Professor," said Harry. "I was wondering when he'd make some sort of excuse to get me alone with him. Might I see you in your office after my detention, Professor?" he asked.

"You anticipate me Mr. Potter. I would like to see you and your friends after your detention," said McGonagall, subtly glancing at Dean and Seamus before heading to her seat at the Head Table.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, had a case of Holiday Writer's Block. I know I said I would have the boys' visit to Hagrid, but I had several people inquire about McGonagall's reaction and this chapter started off quick but then the Holidays hit and I blocked. The end of the chapter isn't as smooth as I'd like but I didn't want to make you wait any longer. Visit to Hagrid will be next chapter.


	6. A Visit With Hagrid

**Chapter 6: A Visit with Hagrid**

Harry stuffed the bugle in his bag as he left McGonagall's office and the three boys made their way across the grounds to Hagrid's hut near the Forbidden Forest. Harry knocked on the door and was answered by a loud, deep barking, followed by Hagrid's voice as he opened the door.

"Down, Fang! Down ye dozy dog!" Hagrid had his hand on the collar of a large slobbering boarhound as he tugged it back from the door. "Come in, come in! Good ter see yeh Harry! Who're your friends?"

"Dean Thomas."

"Seamus Finnegan."

"Pleased ter meet yeh." He waved for them to sit around a large wooden table before pouring them each a large mug of tea and passing around a tray of what he called 'rock cakes'. The name worried Harry, but took one out of politeness. He took a cautious bite and winced as it broke with a nearly audible _'crack'_ a moment before he thought his tooth would. He politely set it aside and took a long pull on his tea to wash the vile taste out of his mouth.

"So how's yer first week of classes been Harry?" asked Hagrid.

"Fine, until this morning that is," replied Harry. "I don't know what that… that… person, and I use that term loosely, has against me but I have never met a more biased teacher in my life. Bastard took seventy points and gave me a detention for answering three questions that happened to be NEWT level and brewing a near perfect potion. Like it's my fault we had barely acceptable ingredients to work with, not to mention the fact that the directions he put on the board were wrong. He took fifty points each from me and Dean and gave us both a detention for following the right directions out of our textbooks." Harry paused to catch his breath. "Sorry about the rant."

"Yeh wouldn't be talkin' abou' Professor Snape, would yeh?" said Hagrid, chuckling. "I s'pose it's 'cause of yer folks, Harry."

"What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Far as I know, Mom and Dad have never met the greasy bat."

"Yer real parents, Harry. Lily and James Potter," replied Hagrid.

The way Hagrid said real parents reminded Harry of how Dumbledore had called the Dursleys his real family. He eyed Hagrid coldly. "Robert and Irene Pauley are my real parents." He shook his head. "Sorry. You just sounded like Dumbledore did when he chewed me out for not staying with what he called 'my real family'. Not my fault they dumped me in an orphanage, not that I blame them. Dumbledore left me on their exposed doorstep with nothing but a note. At least when the Dursley's left me at the orphanage they put me in an enclosed vestibule."

"S'okay Harry," said Hagrid. "I reckon it was fer the best that you weren't raised by yer Aunt and Uncle. I heard Professor McGonagall say she had watched them fer the whole day before Dumbledore had me bring you there. Said they was the worst sort of Muggles she'd ever seen, but Dumbledore said it was the safest place fer yeh. Like yer aunt would ignore the fact that she hated yer Mum 'cause she was magical and Petunia wasn't," he scoffed.

"I probably wouldn't have known I was a wizard until I got my Hogwarts letter," said Harry.

"Probably would've tried to keep you from going, if she hated your Mum because of magic. My first stepdad left us when I did my first accidental magic and he realized I was magical like Mum," said Dean.

"What I don't get is why he thought I'd be safer there than where I ended up. But enough of that for now, what do the Potters have to do with him being an ass?" asked Harry.

"He and Lily were friends before they came ter Hogwarts and stayed friends till their fifth year, even though he was sorted into Slytherin and Lily went to Gryffindor with yer Father. Him and James on the other hand hated each other from the start. An' ter be honest, yer the spittin' image of James in his firs' year. 'Cept yer eyes, yeh got Lily's eyes." Hagrid pulled a box down from a shelf and after rummaging through it for a few minutes pulled out a slightly wrinkled photograph and handed it to Harry.

Harry looked at the photo and saw that it was a picture of a tall, broad shouldered young man and a slightly shorter petite young woman. They were both dressed in Hogwarts robes, with Head Boy and Girl badges pinned to their chests, so Harry knew that they were at least 17 and assumed that they were probably seventh years as well. The boy had messy black hair and looked like he had just gotten off a broom. Harry smiled as he ran a hand thorough his own bird's nest of black hair that just defied being tamed. He could see a resemblance between himself and the older teen in the picture and realized that they were his birth parents. He turned his attention to his birth mother and saw his own eyes smiling back from her face. He looked up at Hagrid frowning.

"Just because I look like his schoolboy enemy is no excuse for that overgrown bat to behave like an a**hole. Neither of us misbehaved in class and all three of us produced nearly perfect potions. I've already had 5 years of magical education, including potions, and I brew a few of the potions we use at home, including that one. Only reason they weren't perfect was the quality of ingredients we had to work with. Bitch tried to Vanish both mine and Dean's potions but failed because I had put a charm I learned back at Burnham to prevent sabotage, including Vanishing. Dean was my partner so I taught him the charm too. I didn't get a chance to show Seamus and Snape Vanished his potion since he couldn't do it to mine or Dean's."

"We all went to Professor McGonagall and told her what happened," said Dean.

"And Harry helped us put copies of our memories of the class in her Pensieve so she could see exactly what happened," added Seamus.

"McGonagall's a good lass, she'll do what she can ter help yeh," said Hagrid.

"You said my mother and Snape were friends till their fifth year, what happened then?"

"He called her a bad name an' Lily…" Hagrid trailed off sadly. "She never forgave him."

"What did he call her?" asked Harry.

"I really don' think I should say, Harry. I have too much respect fer Lily to insult Muggleborns."

Harry slowly got a murderous look in his eye as he thought about what Hagrid said. He could only think of one insult for Muggleborns, or first generations as Harry thought of them. Both Pappy and his parents had taught him to despise that word and he hated what he was about to say.

"You mean to tell me that piece of manure called her a…" He grit his teeth in disgust as he ground out, "Mudblood?"

Dean and Seamus gasped in horror as Hagrid replied sadly, "Aye. James and his mates were bullying him after one of their OWL exams. Had him in a rather, erm, embarrassing position an' blurted it out when Lily tried to stand up for him."

"If my father was such a bully, why did she marry him?"

"James eventually grew up. They didn't start dating till seventh year after they was made Head Boy and Girl." Hagrid poured them all some more tea as Harry pulled out a deck of cards.

"Any of you know how to play poker?" he asked with a grin. Dean and Seamus replied happily that they did and they spent a few hours playing cards before heading back up to the castle. Harry glanced up at the clock over the doors to the Great Hall and realized that they still had a couple of hours before dinner. They went up to Gryffindor Tower and dropped their bookbags in their dorm. Ron and Neville convinced Dean and Seamus to join them in a game of Exploding Snap but Harry just pulled a miniature piano out of his trunk after putting his bugle away. He carried it down to the Common Room, found a large enough space, set it on the ground and tapped it with his wand to restore it to a full size upright piano. He sat at the keyboard, cracked his knuckles and began playing. A few minutes later he heard the sound of an acoustic guitar join him. He glanced over and saw an older black boy with dreadlocks that he recalled was the Weasley twins' friend Lee Jordan sitting on a stool, strumming away. As he looked away he heard Lee begin to sing.

"Imagine there's no heaven  
>It's easy if you try<br>No hell below us  
>Above us only sky<br>Imagine all the people living for today."

The two of them finished the song and were greeted by loud applause and even a few whistles from some of their housemates. Harry just grinned and began pounding out the opening to Elton John's 'Crocodile Rock'. Lee frowned slightly but began trying to play along, but he didn't know it well enough to keep up. When Harry finished the crowd of Gryffindor's listening to him cheered and applauded even louder until they were interrupted by Percy Weasley.

"Oi! What's all this racket?" He spotted Harry sitting at the piano. "Potter! I should have known you were responsible!"

"Lighten up, Perce," said Fred.

"Harrikins and Lee were just providing us with a little…"

"Before dinner entertainment."

"It's okay guys," said Harry. "He wouldn't recognize good music if it came up to him and bit him in the ass. He clearly doesn't recognize the work of two of your countrymen, one of whom is even knighted." He smiled as Percy's face grew red. "They may not be wizards, but their music has a magic all its own. If he doesn't like the works of John Lennon and Sir Elton John, I'll bet he'll hate this. My apologies in advance if I offend anyone else." He reached up and unzipped a small pouch running across the top of the piano and unfurled an American flag before beginning to play.

"Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,  
>What so proudly we hailed, at the twilight's last gleaming?<br>Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,  
>O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?<br>And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,  
>Gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there.<br>Oh say does that Star - Spangled Banner yet wave  
>O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."<p>

"What in Merlin's name was that trash, Potter?" yelled Percy.

Harry rolled his eyes and was about to give a snarky reply but Hermione came down from the girls' dorm and answered the angry redhead before he could open his mouth.

"It is 'The Star Spangled Banner'. It's the American national anthem." She glared at Harry. "Though why Harry decided to play it here is beyond me."

Harry ignored them both as he calmly rolled up the flag and shrunk his piano. He picked it up and stuck it in a pocket of his robes before walking over to Lee, who was packing up his guitar and chatting with the Weasley twins.

"Pay no attention to our prat of a brother," said Fred.

"Yeah, he wouldn't know good music if it bit him in the arse," said George.

"Thanks guys. I grew up listening to the likes of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, and yes, Sir Elton John. I'm glad to see I'm not the only musician here."

"It was a pleasure, Potter," said Lee. "I hope we can play together more often. Maybe tonight after dinner?"

"I'd love to, but Dean and I have detention with Snape tonight."

"What happened? McGonagall burst into our class this afternoon on the warpath. She caught Montague trying to sabotage George's potion, then bound and silenced Snape. Montague tried to sneak out and got petrified for it. I think she was taking them to Dumbledore."

"He had written the wrong directions on the board, so I told Dean and Seamus to use the directions in the book. He must have thought we were cheating because our potions were nearly perfect, so he tried to Vanish our potions, but I had used a charm I learned at Burnham to prevent sabotage on my cauldron as well as Dean's. When he failed, he took fifty points from each of us and gave us both a detention."

"Serves you right," said Hermione from behind him. "Professor Snape did say there was to be no wand waving in his class."

"He said no 'foolish' wand waving, Granger. Protecting your work from sabotage is hardly foolish," replied Harry. He ignored her huff of irritation as his stomach growled loudly. Harry, Dean and Seamus made their way out through the portrait hole and went to the Great Hall for dinner. During dinner, McGonagall informed them of the reversal of Dean's punishment, as well as telling Harry that he would have to serve his detention with Dumbledore. Harry felt that the old Headmaster might try something and was relieved when McGonagall told him that the Headmaster's phoenix would protect him. She also asked to see the three of them after Harry finished his detention. Harry finished his dinner and left the Hall for what he was sure would be a rather unpleasant encounter.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out, but real life can be a bitch sometimes… That and the fact that I've had a few other story possibilities bubbling through my brain trying to get out and blocking my brain from getting the last bit of this chapter actually committed. Next chapter will be Harry's detention with Dumbledore and the boys' meeting with McGonagall. May be a while as I try to sort through the other ideas… Might even start committing them to text.


	7. Detention With Dumbledore

A/N: Sorry this took so long, but real life decided to give me a kick in the nads. Anyway, you all know the drill, I don't own HP and friends yada, yada, yada. And on with the story!

**Chapter 7: Detention with Dumbledore**

Dumbledore sat in his office waiting for Harry to arrive for his detention. Although he would never admit it, he agreed that neither Harry nor Mr. Thomas had done anything deserving of the detentions that Severus had given them, but he could not pass up an opportunity to try and convince the boy to see things his way. From his perch next to the desk, Fawkes gave an irritated squawk. Dumbledore gave the phoenix an annoyed glance. _'Ruddy bird has been behaving strangely all week,'_ he thought. _'I need to convince the boy that he is safer with his real family than the Americans, and that he needs to be trained to fight Voldemort. He's too confident. I need him to look to me for guidance and he needs Pureblood friends, not Muggleborns and Half-Bloods. Perhaps I should provide an incentive for him to become good friends with the Weasley and Longbottom boys. It should make it easier to put him together with young Ginevra.'_ He was broken from his musings by a knock on the door. Guessing that it must be Harry arriving for his detention, he looked at the clock over his door and saw that the boy was nearly five minutes early. Frowning at the lost opportunity for additional discipline, he decided to let the boy stand and wait. At exactly one minute to eight there was another knock on the door, followed a few seconds later by the door being opened and Harry entering.

"Mr. Potter it is impolite to enter without being bidden."

"It is also impolite for a student to be late for a detention with the Headmaster of the school, which I likely would have been had I waited for you to tell me to enter. That's an old boot camp trick, sir, I'm not going to fall for it," replied Harry.

"Boot camp? What do footwear and camping have to do with anything?"

"Boot camp is where the Army sends new recruits for training. Commanders would order a recruit to report to their office at a certain time and then make them wait before telling them to come in so they can discipline them for being late."

"Very well. Have a seat, Harry," said Dumbledore, conjuring an uncomfortable looking chair in front of his desk. "Lemon drop?" he asked once Harry sat down.

"No thank you, sir, I don't think it's appropriate since I'm supposed to be serving detention, nor is it appropriate for you to be addressing me in such a familiar manner as you are neither friend nor kin."

"As I am your magical guardian it is quite appropriate that I refer to you by your given name." Dumbledore smiled at Harry, his eyes twinkling.

Harry felt the brush against his mind that told him that the Headmaster was attempting to use Legilimency to try and get inside his head. He broke eye contact with Dumbledore as Fawkes gave an angry trill and flew over to Harry, perching gently on his shoulder.

_*Worry not young Gryffindor.*_

Harry felt the brush of the phoenix's mind against his. Fawkes was not attempting to push into his mind, but instead was speaking to his shielded mind. _'Fawkes?'_ he thought, turning his head to look at the firebird perched on his shoulder.

_*Yes. The headmaster is trying to penetrate your thoughts, and although you have shielded your mind well he would have succeeded had I not intervened. I will reinforce your shields and keep him out of your mind.*_

'_Professor McGonagall told me you would protect me if Dumbledore went too far.'_

_*Your Head of House is a wise woman, Harry. She is a worthy custodian of your ancestor's house.*_

'_So the Sorting Hat wasn't joking when it called Godric Gryffindor my ancestor, I'm actually descended from a Founder of Hogwarts?'_

_*Yes, Harry. But I think you should reply to the old man, he's getting a bit miffed.*_

Harry realized that his conversation had only taken a second but Dumbledore was frowning when he turned his attention back to the old Headmaster. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, Headmaster. Pappy is my magical guardian while my adopted parents are my legal physical guardians. You are merely the Headmaster of my school. Even Snape…"

"Professor Snape," corrected Dumbledore. "He is your teacher and deserves your respect. He is also the youngest person to attain a Potions Mastery."

"He's no teacher, though I'll assume you're telling me the truth and give him his props for having his Mastery. Even **Potions Master** Snape, no matter how rude or insulting he may be about it, calls me Mr. Potter, though he doesn't always include the mister. Hagrid told me James Potter bullied him when they went to school together, so he's 'blaming the son for the sins of the father', as the Muggle saying goes. I've already lodged a complaint with Professor McGonagall about his treatment of me and I won't hesitate to go to the school board if I have to."

"Threats do not become you, Mr. Potter, and would you please return my phoenix to his perch?" replied Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling again as he again tried to push his way into Harry's mind.

_*Silly bugger. I'm not his phoenix. I haven't bonded with another wizard since Godric died. There has not been a descendant of Godric worthy for me to bond with. Until now.*_

'_Me?'_

_*Yes, Harry. I felt our bond beginning to form as soon as you arrived in the school. You are a truly worthy heir of Lord Gryffindor. All that remains is for you to accept our bond.*_

'_I accept, noble Fawkes.'_

A red-gold glow formed around Harry and Fawkes as Harry grinned at the Headmaster. "I'm afraid you're mistaken once again, sir. Fawkes is my phoenix, or rather I'm Fawkes's wizard. He hasn't been bonded to a wizard since Godric Gryffindor. He say's I'm a truly worthy heir of Lord Gryffindor and has chosen to bond with me."

Dumbledore was furious. He couldn't allow Harry to go to the board and reveal that he is a Founder's heir. _'I'll have to rethink my plans for the boy,' _he thought. He fixed a smile on his face before replying. "Congratulations, Mr. Potter, you are the first person to bond with a phoenix in nearly a thousand years. I believe you are also the youngest. I will speak to Severus about his behavior. Just make sure that you do not get caught actually breaking school rules, in or out of class. Now, you have plenty of time to return to your dorm before curfew, so run along."

Harry beat a hasty retreat from the Headmaster's office, sharing a mental laugh with Fawkes, telling his new familiar that Professor McGonagall wanted to see him and his friends when his detention was over. When Harry was halfway down the spiral staircase, he mentally asked Fawkes to take him to Dean and Seamus. Fawkes gave a soft trill before flaming Harry to his dorm room, startling Dean and Seamus, who were playing a game of poker on Dean's bed.

"Blimey, Harry, you didn't tell us you had a phoenix familiar," blurted Seamus, pointing at Fawkes. Dean just stared, awe-struck at the sight of Harry with a phoenix on his shoulder.

Harry laughed before replying. "That's because I didn't until I went to my detention with Dumbledore. He tried getting into my thoughts again and Fawkes here took exception to that. He bonded with me and helped me keep the old man out of my head. I just came to get you guys so we can go see McGonagall."

"That's right," said Dean, recovering. "She said she wanted to see us after you finished your detention." He glanced at his watch. "I don't think she expected you to be done so soon, though."

Fawkes gave a happy trill, and Harry heard his laughter in his head.

_*Actually, she guessed exactly when, just not how.*_

"Fawkes says McGonagall had guessed exactly how long my detention would take, just not how it would end," said Harry.

"Then we best not keep our Head of House waiting, should we?" said Seamus, heading for the door.

"I have a better idea," said Harry. "Everyone thinks I'm in detention right now, right? Except McGonagall?" Dean and Seamus nodded. "Take my arms," Harry ordered, holding his arms out. "I want to make an impression on McGonagall and mess with our house when we get back," he continued when they hesitated. The boys shrugged and grabbed Harry's arms and the three of them disappeared in a flash of flame.

When they reappeared in a flash of flame in McGonagall's office, she looked up and swore under her breath. "That old coot. He tried to Legilimize you again, didn't he?" she asked Harry. He grinned and nodded. "You and Fawkes have bonded, I assume?" Harry nodded again. "I knew that he would protect you if Dumbledore tried to go too far, but I never expected this."

"Fawkes told me that I'm the heir of Godric Gryffindor and that I'm the first wizard worthy of bonding with him since Gryffindor himself."

Dean and Seamus looked at him in awe. "Wicked!" they breathed.

"Aaaand, the Sorting Hat said that I was actually quite easy to place and though some would say I should have been Sorted into Slytherin because I'm a Parselmouth, but the Hat said I belong in the House of my ancestor. On the boats I was remembering something I read in _Hogwarts: A History_ about how the castle is almost sentient and thinking how the castle's magic felt like family and figured the castle saw all the students as its family, when I heard this voice whisper in my ear. It said, _'not all students, young heir'_."

McGonagall smiled fondly at Harry. "I assume Albus didn't take to kindly to Fawkes bonding with you?"

Harry grinned. "Nope. He demanded that I return _his_ phoenix. I told him that he was mistaken and that Fawkes was my phoenix, or rather that I was Fawkes' wizard. I also threatened to go to the school board about Potions Master Snape. He suddenly got this really fake smile on his face and told me to run along. I got about halfway down the stairs outside his office and asked Fawkes to take me to Dean and Seamus. He flamed us to our dorm room, I grabbed the two of them and flamed here."

McGonagall gave Harry a serious look. "I am happy for you Harry, and I'm suspicious of Albus' sudden change in attitude. I believe a field trip for the two of us is in order. There are many things you need to be told and if Albus had his way you'd never learn about them until it was too late. He doesn't hide all of his secrets as well as he thinks he does. He forgets that I was your father's favorite teacher, and I must admit that he and your mother were two of my favorite students."

"What kind of secrets, Professor?" asked Harry.

"I will tell you what I can tomorrow, but it is nearly curfew. Get a good night's sleep and I will meet you in the Entrance Hall after breakfast."

Harry and his friends thanked their Head of House and Harry promised to teach the charm he had taught Dean to any of his housemates that wished to learn it. Fawkes flamed the three of them back to their dorm in Gryffindor Tower, surprising Ron and Neville who were playing a game of chess on Ron's bed. They yelped and Ron dove off the bed, scattering the chess pieces. Neville recovered quickly and stared at the phoenix perched on Harry's shoulder as Harry flicked his wand and conjured a perch next to his bed. Fawkes trilled happily and fluttered over to the perch.

"Where were you guys?" asked Ron, looking at Dean and Seamus. "I never saw you go out the door downstairs."

"McGonagall's office," replied Dean. "She wanted to see the three of us after Harry's detention. We were up here playing poker when Harry flamed in here with Fawkes and took the three of us to her office the same way."

"Blimey, Harry, I didn't know you had a phoenix," said Neville.

"I didn't until the Headmaster tried to riffle through my thoughts again during my detention tonight. Fawkes didn't like that he was trying to read the thoughts of his Founder's heir," replied Harry with a grin.

"Wicked," said Ron. "But what do you mean *his* Founder's heir?"

"Fawkes hasn't been bonded with a wizard since the founding of Hogwarts. Apparently I'm descended from Godric Gryffindor himself."

The five boys sat discussing the possible implications of Harry being a Founder's heir and speculating on where McGonagall would be taking Harry the next morning before getting ready for bed. They climbed into their respective beds and drifted off to sleep, Fawkes trilling a soft lullaby to ensure pleasant dreams for Harry and his friends.

A/N: Next chapter will be Harry's field trip with McGonagall and a bit of fluff… maybe. The fluff that is, the field trip is definite.


	8. Meanwhile, Back in the States

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.

**Chapter 8: Meanwhile, Back in the States**

_US Department of Magic, September 5_

Secretary of Magic Robert Paulson sat at his desk, perusing a letter from Cornelius Fudge, recently appointed Minister for Magic of Great Britain, when the intercom on his desk buzzed.

"Yes, Erin?"

"Sherman Potter is here to see you, sir," said the disembodied voice of his secretary.

"Thank you, Erin. Please send him in." He stood and walked over to the coffee pot on the credenza, refilling his mug and grabbing another for his guest. He had just finished pouring when his door opened. "Hiya, Sherm!" he said, handing a cup to his friend and waving over to the couch.

"Morning, Bob," he replied, accepting the coffee and taking a brief sip before sitting down. "I assume you didn't have me come all the way to Washington for a social visit."

"Direct as always. You're right. I remember you telling me that young Harry would be attending his birth parent's alma mater… Hog-something wasn't it?" he asked.

"Hogwarts. Headmaster is a man by the name of Dumbledore."

Paulson's face darkened. "He's also the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW and head of the UK's magical legislature. Old fart keeps trying to tell other countries, especially us, that they're the premier Wizarding society in the world and that we would do well to emulate them. Their government is positively medieval, Sherm. All the seats on their Wizengamot as they call it are hereditary, much like the UK's House of Lords, all belonging to old pureblood families. I did some digging and found out the names. It turns out that the Potter's are one of them and that Dumbledore has held the proxy vote since the death of James and Lily Potter back in '91."

"He had Harry brought to his office Saturday night, shortly after their Welcoming Feast." Sherman passed Paulson Harry's letter. "Seems the old man is upset that Harry wasn't living with the people he was left with when his parents were killed. I'm glad I taught Harry Occlumency. Dumbledore tried to riffle through Harry's mind to find information on me and our family. Anyway, you asked me here for a reason."

"Ever since I found out about the Potters and Dumbledore holding the proxy for the family, I've been trying to find a way to change that. According to British Wizarding law, a proxy is supposed to be held by a blood relation whenever possible. I checked with Gringotts and it turns out that you are in fact a blood relation to Harry. A bit distant, but related nonetheless."

"How distant?"

"Your great-grandfather Nicholas Potter was the younger brother of one Henry Potter, Harry's great-great-great-great grandfather. You and Petunia Dursley are Harry's only living blood relations, but as Mrs. Dursley is a Muggle, she would be ineligible to serve as a proxy. Dumbledore obviously thinks that she is his only blood relative. This, along with him being Chief Warlock, was enough for him to claim magical guardianship and the Potter proxy. However, he did not officially register the guardianship, so when your grandson adopted Harry, that allowed you as the only magical Potter relative to officially claim magical guardianship of Harry. And since you are both Harry's magical guardian and a Potter by blood I would like for you to claim the proxy and be my eyes and ears over there. Ambassador Williams is a good man, but he's not able to get much useful information out of their government. They stonewall him on nearly everything, saying they can't give Wizengamot or Ministry information to an 'outsider'. As a proxy for a family with a seat on the Wizengamot you'll be privy to a lot more, as you would have a duty to keep the family you represent informed."

"So how do I go about this?"

"We want to keep this under the radar until it's a done deal to keep the old man from interfering, so I've arranged for you to be able to use the portal in Gringotts here in DC to get to Gringotts London Saturday morning. The goblins will perform a blood ritual to provide proof that you are in fact a member of a cadet branch of the Potter Family. You'll take that to the Ministry, I'll make an appointment for you with Minister Fudge, and have him call a session of the Wizengamot. I will impress upon him that Dumbledore is not to know that you have taken over the Potter proxy until after the Wizengamot has confirmed you."

The pair spent some time talking before Sherman left to prepare for his trip.


	9. Claiming Heritage

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. Harry Potter et. al. belongs to JKR and Sherman Potter belongs to whoever…

**Chapter 9: Claiming Heritage**

_Saturday September 8_

The next morning, Harry, Dean and Seamus woke at their now regular early time and went for their daily run, speculating on where McGonagall would be taking Harry for his field trip. They all had their own ideas, but they all agreed that Gringotts was sure to be one stop. They showered and dressed before heading down to breakfast, all three of them dressing in a t-shirt and jeans, though Harry also threw on a nice set of casual robes. Dean and Seamus burst out laughing when he saw Harry's shirt, which read, 'Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are chewy and taste good dipped in chocolate.' They sat down at the Gryffindor table and started loading up their plates.

"Man, what I wouldn't give for some biscuits and gravy right about now," grumbled Harry. "Not that this isn't good, but I kinda miss some things."

"Why would you want to put gravy on biscuits?" asked Hermione from a short way down the table. "That's just disgusting." Dean and Seamus just gave Harry slightly confused looks, remembering that Harry was raised in America and that they just didn't know what he was talking about.

"Have you ever had biscuits and gravy before, Granger?" asked Harry. She just shook her head. "Don't knock it till you've tried it. Every Sunday we'd Floo to Pappy's for brunch. Uncle Walter would bring fresh eggs from his farm in Iowa and we'd have fluffy sausage and cheese omelets and thick sausage gravy over fresh baked buttermilk biscuits." Harry suddenly slapped his forehead with the heel of his hand. "I just remembered, what you Brits call biscuits are cookies to Americans while we have our own thing we call biscuits." Harry shook his head and turned his attention back to his breakfast. He finished eating and after making plans with Dean and Seamus to study and do their homework together when he returned, made his way to the Entrance hall to wait for his Head of House.

McGonagall joined him a few minutes later. She caught a glimpse of Harry's t-shirt and gave him a small smile. "Interesting choice of attire, Mr. Potter," she said, leading him out of the castle. "Contrary to popular belief, goblins do have a sense of humor."

"I know," replied Harry. "That's why I chose it. I figure British goblins and American goblins aren't all that different from each other. I was with Dad a few times when he's acted as a go-between with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This was actually a birthday present from one of his goblin contacts, Griphook was his name. I'm not quite fluent in Gobbledygook, but I know enough not to insult them. I assume you're taking me to Gringotts?" he asked.

"Among other places, though Gringotts will be our first stop. I have arranged for a Portkey to take us to the bank, but we need to be outside the wards to do so. Only the Headmaster can make a Portkey through the castle wards and I don't want him to know about this and interfering." Once they were outside the gates, McGonagall held out a brass ring. "Have you ever traveled by Portkey before, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes ma'am," replied Harry, grasping the ring. "Don't care for them much, but I can handle them just fine." McGonagall just nodded before tapping the ring with her wand.

"Activate."

They arrived on the main floor of Gringotts London a few moments later in a flash of blue light. Harry let go of the Portkey and dropped to one knee as a wave of dizziness overtook him, fighting to keep from revisiting his breakfast. McGonagall held his arm and steadied him as he won his battle with his stomach.

"Harry, what's the longest Portkey trip you've ever taken?"

"About 300 miles, from Chicago to Hannibal, MO. I felt a bit queasy after that trip, too."

"The trip we just took was nearly twice as long, and you are only eleven years old. You will get used to them as you get older and your magical core stabilizes and matures," said McGonagall, helping Harry to his feet.

Harry grinned up at his head of house as he replied. "Pappy told me the exact same thing when we Portkeyed there on my birthday. Where are we anyway?" he asked, looking around. Seeing a number of goblins he ventured a guess. "Gringotts?"

"Correct, Mr. Potter. Gringotts London, to be precise. This is where Lily and James did their personal banking and the Potter family is one of Gringotts oldest customers as well. That is why we were given a Portkey directly into the bank…" She broke off as Harry gave a yelp of surprise and shouted, "Griphook!" She turned around to see four goblins approaching. Two were obviously warriors, or bodyguards rather, as she recognized one of the others as Ragnok, Director of Gringotts London and leader of the British goblin clans. It was the fourth goblin, the one McGonagall didn't recognize, who responded to Harry's outburst.

"Hello again, Harry. I see you like your birthday present, I am sorry I was unable to be there to give it to you in person." He continued in Gobbledygook, "May I introduce Lord Ragnok, Director of Gringotts London and Leader of the United Goblin Clans of Britain and Ireland."

Harry bowed to the older, well dressed goblin. "Greetings Lord Ragnok, may our business benefit us both," he said in slightly stilted Gobbledygook. "My Head of House at Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall," he added, gesturing towards Minerva.

"You speak our tongue well for one so young, Mr. Potter," said Ragnok. "Griphook has taught you well. If you would both follow me?" Ragnok gestured for them to follow and lead them through a maze of corridors and into Ragnok's office. The guards took up positions on either side of the door while Ragnok took a seat at his desk, with Griphook taking a seat on the end and motioning for Harry and McGonagall to seats in front of the desk. He tapped the desk in a complex pattern, and a stone basin and a silver dagger appeared. "Have you been told exactly what you will be doing today, Mr. Potter?" Harry shook his head. "We will be performing a Heritage test to verify your status as the Heir of Gryffindor…" He broke off as Fawkes appeared in a burst of flame and coming to rest on Harry's shoulder. "However, this is merely a bureaucratic formality, as it appears that Lord Godric's familiar has chosen to bond with you. We will also be able to verify your inheritances from your parents as well. If you would just prick your finger with the dagger and place a drop of blood in the basin?" Harry took the dagger and pricked his finger. A drop of blood welled up and he shook it off into the basin. Griphook healed his finger as the basin glowed gold and the drop of blood disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced by a piece of parchment. Ragnok looked over the parchment briefly, nodding in satisfaction before handing it to Harry.

Harry took the parchment and saw that it was a partial family tree, with his own name at the top and two columns of names below. He noticed that one of his birth parents were at the top of each column, though most of the names below his mother were black while all of the names below his father were in red, ending in the name Godric Gryffindor. The last few names in his mother's column were written in blue, ending with Rowena Ravenclaw. He also noticed that all the names below James Potter were male and those below Lily Evans were female. "Does this mean I'm the heir of two of Hogwarts' Founders?"

"Not quite, Mr. Potter," replied Ragnok. "The Ravenclaw line is of matriarchal descent, so the title of Heir would go to your first born daughter. Both the Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor and the Ancient and Noble house of Potter are of patriarchal descent and all three hold seats on the Wizengamot, currently held in proxy by the Chief Warlock, Albus Dumbledore. As the heir of House Gryffindor you also hold a seat in the House of Lords in the Muggle Parliament, though it has sat vacant since the death of your grandfather, Sir Charles Emerson Potter. You will be able to claim the Gryffindor and Potter seats on the Wizengamot outright when you come of age at 17, as well as the Ravenclaw proxy which will pass to your eldest daughter when she comes of age." Ragnok smiled as he pulled a folder from a drawer in his desk. "When Griphook was transferred here and assigned as the account manager in charge of the Potter and Gryffindor vaults, he told me many stories about your adopted family in America, particularly one Sherman Terrance Potter."

"Pappy? What about him?" asked Harry.

"Harry, you asked Sherman once if you were related to him, since you were both Potters," said Griphook. "He said that he didn't think so since you were British and he was American. The question intrigued me, so when I was transferred here I checked your family's genealogical records and found that you are in fact distantly related. Sherman's great grandfather Nicholas was a wizard who had a falling out with his older brother, your great-great-great-great grandfather Lord Henry Potter who felt that wizards should not get involved in Muggle affairs."

Harry's head was spinning with the flood of information. He was Wizarding nobility here in Britain with seats in both the Muggle Parliament and the magical equivalent. He felt a happy warmth in his heart as he realized that his family was truly family. He groaned inwardly at the realization that he was going to have to study a lot of law, Wizarding and Muggle, British and American. _'Suck it up, Potter,'_ he thought to himself. _'A little extra studying has never bothered you before, why should this be any different?'_ He sighed and looked at Ragnok. "So what do we do now?"

Ragnok just smiled and tapped his desk and the basin and dagger disappeared, replaced by two small boxes. "These are the Potter and Gryffindor House signet rings." He pushed one of the boxes towards Harry. "Place the Gryffindor ring on your right index finger." Harry opened the box and looked dubiously at the large signet ring. "Don't worry, Mr. Potter, the ring will automatically resize itself to fit your finger." Harry slid the ring onto his finger and it immediately shrank to fit perfectly before disappearing. "It's still there; it is charmed to be invisible unless you wish to display it. To do so, simply concentrate on the ring for a moment and it will appear." Harry easily concentrated on the ring as he could still feel it even if he couldn't see it. He focused for a moment and the ring appeared. He focused on hiding the ring and smiled as it disappeared from sight. Ragnok passed Harry the other box. "Place the Potter ring on your right ring finger. Harry slid the ring on his finger and watched as it shrank to fit and disappeared, just like the Gryffindor ring had.

A small crystal on the desk began chiming softly. Ragnok tapped it with a finger and a piece of parchment appeared. He picked it up and read it quickly. "It appears that we will be having another visitor joining us shortly, one who has a vested interest in what we are discussing here."

"Who?" Harry asked. He jumped from his chair as he heard a very familiar voice behind him.

"That would be me, Harry."

"Pappy Sherm!" Harry gave his grandfather a hug before introducing him to his head of house. "Pappy, this is Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress, Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts. Professor, this is my great-great grandpa Sherman Potter, surgeon and retired US Army Colonel."

McGonagall stood and shook Sherman's offered hand. "A pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter."

"Likewise, Professor. Please call me Sherman."

"Minerva," replied McGonagall. "We weren't expecting to see you here today."

The three of them sat down as Sherman began explaining. "Secretary Paulson informed me that Harry here is heir to a seat on your Wizengamot and that Albus Dumbledore currently holds the proxy by means of dubious legality. As I am Harry's only living Potter relative he asked me to come to Britain to claim the proxy."

"Actually, Col. Potter," said Ragnok, "Harry is heir to two seats of his own and proxy to a third. He is descended from two of Hogwarts' Founders, Godric Gryffindor through his father and Rowena Ravenclaw through his mother. He will also be eligible for a seat in the House of Lords in the Muggle Parliament when he comes of age."

Sherman whistled softly. "So I need to claim three proxies then? I assume that Dumbledore currently holds all three?" Ragnok nodded. "It's sure going to put a burr in his saddle when I claim them out from under his nose. He only holds them because he claims to be Harry's magical guardian, even though he never officially registered his claim. I need to undergo the heritage ritual for proof that Harry and I are related for when I meet with the Minister later. He's going to call a session of the Wizengamot to have me confirmed as the Potter proxy. Since Harry is here, I think it might give my claim a bit more weight if he was with me when I do." He looked at McGonagall. "An added witness would probably help as well."

McGonagall smiled and said, "I'll also be able to run interference with Albus if he tries to stick his crooked nose in once we return to Hogwarts."

Ragnok performed the ritual for Sherman and provided the documentation he would need for their meeting while Griphook took Harry and McGonagall to his family vault to retrieve his parents wills. They returned to Ragnok's where McGonagall began reading it for Harry.

"That whiskered old goat!"

A/N: So we finally see Harry and Sherm together, and together they will give Dumbledore a nice kick in the stones.


	10. Minister and Wizengamot

Disclaimer: Tenth verse, same as the first… Not mine. Harry Potter belongs to a rich woman in the UK, I'm just a working class guy in the US.

**Chapter 10: Minister and Wizengamot**

_Previously:_

"_That whiskered old goat!"_

"What's the problem, Minerva?"

Minerva handed the will to Sherman who began reading.

_Last Will and Testament_

_We, James Michael Potter and Lily Marie Potter nee Evans, do declare this to be our last will and testament. If this document is being read then we have been betrayed and Voldemort has killed us. It is widely believed that Sirius Black is our Secret Keeper, this is false. Our Secret Keeper is Peter Pettigrew. In the event of our deaths, all of our assets shall fall to our son Harry and custody shall fall to one of the following:_

_Sirius Black, godfather  
>Alice Longbottom, godmother<br>Minerva McGonagall, our favorite Professor  
>Amelia Bones, friend of the family<em>

_Should none of these people be available, our good friend Remus Lupin shall be responsible for choosing an appropriate guardian. Sorry Mooney, but the law won't allow you to take him, though we want you in his life. Under no circumstances is custody to be given to Petunia and Vernon Dursley as they have a virulent hatred of magic._

_Witnesses  
>Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock<br>Jerome Howard, Potter Family solicitor_

"I guess we have a few additional things to discuss with the Minister," said Sherman. He turned to McGonagall. "While I'm sure he would have been well cared for had you been given custody, I am glad that he has found a happy home with my family. What ever happened to the other folks mentioned here?"

Minerva frowned as she replied, "Lily and James were in hiding, hidden by a Fidelius Charm and everyone believing that Sirius was their Secret Keeper. When that… night… happened, Sirius was taken into custody and sent to Azkaban. Two days later, the Longbottoms were attacked by Death Eaters searching for information on their fallen master. Frank and Alice were tortured and sent to St. Mungo's."

Harry's face fell and his eyes filled with tears. "Were those Neville's parents?"

"Yes, Harry. He lives with his grandmother now," said McGonagall.

"Poor Neville," said Harry, wiping his eyes.

"Who're Remus Lupin and Amelia Bones?"

"Amelia is the current Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Her niece Susan is a first year Hufflepuff at Hogwarts. Remus Lupin was a good friend of the Potters. He has a… medical condition that is monitored by the Ministry."

"He's a werewolf? No wonder they call him Mooney," said Harry.

"Yes, well, Mr. Howard died of a stroke a week after the will was written."

Sherman looked at his watch. "We'd best get going if we're going to get to our meeting on time." He rolled up the will and put it in the pocket of his robes. "I think we'll also pay a visit to Ms. Bones to file some charges against Mr. Dumbledore." The three of them walked to the lobby of the bank and Floo'ed to the Ministry. After passing through security an Auror escorted them to the Minister's office.

Fudge looked up in confusion as they entered. "I was only expecting Mr. Sherman Potter."

"There have been some interesting developments, Minister," said McGonagall. "I had taken Harry to Gringotts concerning certain issues that had arisen at Hogwarts. We didn't expect to see Mr. Potter there."

"I see," said Fudge, waving them to sit down. "Now, it is my understanding, that as Harry's adopted parents are Squibs you are claiming to be young Harry's magical guardian? And as such you wish to claim the proxy for the Potter seat on the Wizengamot?"

"That is correct though incomplete. I understand that Dumbledore never officially registered his claim to Harry's guardianship, even though he used that claim to take the proxies for the seats that our family holds. It is my understanding of your law that if an heir is under age, guardianship and so on falls to the nearest blood relation unless there is a will stating otherwise." He handed Fudge a copy of the results of the Heritage test.

"Yes, well, Dumbledore had the Potter will sealed."

Sherman took the will from his pocket. "He apparently didn't know that they kept a copy in their vault at Gringotts. Harry retrieved it from there this morning and we discovered some interesting things. For instance, you have an innocent man in Azkaban."

Fudge scoffed, "Who?"

"Sirius Black," replied Harry.

"Black?! Impossible! He betrayed your parents to You-Know-Who! He blew up a street and killed Peter Pettigrew and thirteen Muggles!"

"I don't know about Pettigrew and the Muggles, but Mr. Black did not betray the Potters," replied Sherman. He unrolled the will and cleared his throat. "Quote, '_It is widely believed that Sirius Black is our Secret Keeper, this is false. Our Secret Keeper is Peter Pettigrew.'_ Unquote."

"But… but…," Fudge sputtered. "I know you wanted Dumbledore kept out of the Wizengamot session today, but it was him and Barty Crouch that sent him to Azkaban, saying that a trial was unnecessary since Black was the Potter's Secret Keeper." He scribbled a note and placed it in a box on his desk. "I just sent a message to Madam Bones to have Black brought from Azkaban. I'm going to call for a full session of the Wizengamot so we can get to the bottom of this. Dumbledore is going to have some hard questions to answer. Crouch as well." He led the Potters to an antechamber to wait for the session to start and had an Auror escort McGonagall to the visitor's gallery.

-000-

Sirius Black was brought to the Ministry where he was permitted to shower and shave and was given clean robes. He tried to ask the Aurors escorting what was happening, but all he was told was that he was going before the Wizengamot.

'_I wonder what happened to Harry?'_

-000-

Fudge called the Wizengamot session to order. "We have several pieces of business to take care of today. First, it has come to the Ministry's attention that the minor heir of an Ancient and Noble house wishes to assign a new proxy for their house seat. The Ministry calls Harry James Potter to appear before the Wizengamot." A murmur passed through the assembled Wizengamot and the visitor's gallery as Harry and Sherman entered the chamber.

Before anyone could say anything else, Dumbledore burst into the chamber and moved to take the position of Chief Warlock. "Many apologies for my tardiness but I received notice of this session just a few minutes ago."

"You will not be serving as Chief Warlock for this session Dumbledore, due to a conflict of interest. Mr. Potter has business before this body first. Now wait in the antechamber until you are called," said Fudge.

It finally registered that Harry was standing before the Wizengamot, accompanied by an older gentleman he did not recognize. "Harry, my boy, you need to return to school. There is no need for you to be before the Wizengamot, nor do you have permission to be off school grounds. Come, I will have an Auror escort you back to school."

"I'm not going anywhere Headmaster," replied Harry. "I am part of the reason for this session and Professor McGonagall gave me permission and escorted me here." He turned his back on Dumbledore and addressed Fudge. "Shall we continue Minister?"

Fudge smiled at Harry. "Certainly Mr. Potter. Harry James Potter, what business do you bring before the Wizengamot?"

Harry looked at Sherman and smiled before replying. "I, Harry James Potter, heir to the Ancient and Noble houses of Potter, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, wish to name a proxy to the seats that are my right by blood and magic. I understand that by law of Wizarding Britain my proxy should be of blood relation…"

Dumbledore interrupted him saying, "You are the sole surviving member of the Potter family Harry. That is why I as Chief Warlock hold the proxy for your family until you come of age."

"You obviously did not look very hard Mr. Dumbledore," said Sherman, speaking for the first time. He handed the parchment with the results of Gringotts' heritage test to Fudge after duplicating it, handing the copy to Dumbledore. "I am Col. Sherman T. Potter, United States Army (ret.) and I have been verified by Gringotts as Harry's blood relative. The precise term gets a bit wordy, but my great grandpa was the younger brother of one of Harry's Potter ancestors."

Fudge read the test results before looking to Harry. "I assume that you wish to remove Chief Warlock Dumbledore and for Col. Potter to serve as proxy for your family seats Harry?"

"I do, Minister," replied Harry.

Dumbledore looked like he had just bitten into a particularly disgusting Bertie Botts bean as Fudge called for a vote and was the only vote against the appointment of Col. Potter as Harry's proxy. He stood and tried to grab Harry. "Now that that is finished I really must insist that you return to Hogwarts."

"Not so fast, Dumbledore," said Fudge as Harry evaded Dumbledore's grasp, aided by Sherman stepping between them. "The Potters have brought other matters to my attention that may result in charges against you." He looked over at a grey haired woman with a monocle in one eye. "Madam Bones, has Sirius Black been brought from Azkaban?"

"Yes minister."

"Black? He was sent to Azkaban for betraying the Potters to Voldemort. Everyone knows he was their Secret Keeper," said Dumbledore scathingly.

"Not according to their will," said Sherman. "A will that you witnessed, I might add."

"But… but… The Potters' will was sealed by order of the Wizengamot!"

"By your order is more likely," said Sherman. "They left a copy in the care of the goblins at Gringotts."

"Enough!" shouted Bones. "Cornelius, as Minister you can order the will to be unsealed and we can compare the will filed with the Ministry with the on the Potters retrieved from Gringotts." Fudge agreed and Bones sent a runner to the Records department for both the will and a transcript of Sirius Black's trial. He took about 5 minutes to return while Dumbledore continued to try to talk to Harry, but was firmly rebuffed by Sherman. When the runner returned, he handed the will to Amelia and told her that there was no record of a trial for Sirius Black. She glared at Dumbledore and asked, "Just what possessed you to allow an innocent man to be sent to Azkaban without trial?"

"It was for the Greater Good. Lily's sacrifice allowed me to place powerful wards to protect Harry if he lived where his mother's blood dwelt, namely with her sister Petunia. Black would have insisted on taking custody of Harry and would not allow him to live with his family," replied Dumbledore.

Sherman looked at Dumbledore incredulously. "Mule fritters! Had you bothered to ask Mrs. Dursley if she would even be willing to take Harry in, you would have known she didn't want anything to do with raising Harry. I know Harry showed you the letter she wrote when they sent him to the orphanage, saying she wanted nothing to do with, quote 'my freakish sister or her freakish brat,' unquote. I've served in three wars and imagining how she would have treated Harry turns my stomach."

"Black will have the trial he should have had ten years ago, though it appears that it will be just a formality," said Bones. "Bring him it!"

Sirius was led in by a pair of Aurors. He looked a bit haggard from his stay in Azkaban, but he had been allowed to shower, shave and was provided with clean robes. He was led to a chair in front of the Wizengamot but wasn't chained to it as he was expecting. He noticed Harry standing off to one side with an older man that he didn't recognize who was handing a parchment scroll to Madam Bones. He was surprised to see that Dumbledore was not seated with the Wizengamot and that the Minister was seated in the Chief Warlock's chair. He was brought out of his musings when Bones began to speak.

"It appears that Col. Potter is correct in his assertions concerning Mr. Black, Minister. However I would like to question him under Veritaserum to make sure." Fudge readily agreed and ordered one of the Aurors to administer the truth serum. After waiting for a minute for it to take effect, Bones began the questioning.

"State your full name and date of birth."

"Sirius Orion Black. May 15th, 1970."

"Were you the Potter's Secret Keeper?

"No, I was just a decoy."

"Who was the Secret Keeper?

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Did you kill Pettigrew and thirteen Muggles on the morning of November first?"

"No. I knew Peter had to have betrayed James and Lily so after Hagrid told me that Dumbledore had ordered him to bring Harry to Hogwarts I gave him my motorcycle and went to find Peter. I caught up with him in Cambridge but the rat cut off his finger yelling that I had betrayed Lily and James before blowing up the street. He transformed and scarpered into the sewer."

"Transformed?"

"He's an Animagus, a rat to be exact. Peter, James and I all became Animagi in our fifth year."

"Did any of you ever register?"

"James did. His form was a magnificent stag. When we joined the Aurors the recruiter told him to register as his form wasn't useful but I was told not to officially register as my form could be very useful. I don't know about the rat, he didn't make the cut as an Auror."

Fudge had the antidote administered and called for a verdict. The vote was nearly unanimous. Dumbledore abstained, sulking. Fudge looked at Sirius and said, "You have my sincere apologies for the miscarriage of justice perpetrated by Dumbledore and the previous administration Mr. Black." Fudge made a few more comments regarding compensation for his wrongful imprisonment and informed Sirius of the deaths of his parents, for which Sirius did not shed a tear. He then had an Auror release him from his cuffs before having him take his family seat on the Wizengamot, depriving Dumbledore of yet another proxy vote. Dumbledore continued to sulk but did not raise an objection, realizing that he didn't have a leg to stand on. Madam Bones made a motion to have Dumbledore forced to face a hearing before the Wizengamot concerning the sealing of the Potter's will, the illegal incarceration of Sirius and his attempt to have Harry placed with the Dursleys. After the motion was unanimously passed and the session ended, Sirius approached Harry and Sherman.

"Hello Harry. I'm Sirius Black, your godfather."

A/N: So Harry has claimed his seats and gotten Sirius freed, pulling some of Dumbles political clout away from him. What will happen now? Stay tuned!


	11. Sirius

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. I don't own Harry Potter, M*A*S*H, or Cheers, though I did visit Cheers in Boston back in '08 :-)

**Chapter 11: Sirius**

"_Hello Harry. I'm Sirius Black, your godfather."_

"Hello Mr. Black," replied Harry.

Sirius shook his head violently, holding up his hands. "Call me Sirius or Padfoot, please! Whenever someone calls me Mr. Black I expect to see old McGonagall talking to me."

Harry just grinned as he had seen that very person walk up behind Sirius. "That's usually because you Marauders were up to no good, Mr. Black," said McGonagall with a smirk. Sirius yelped and spun around, red-faced. "I'm glad to see you as a free man Sirius. I would say innocent, but we both know that isn't exactly true, now is it? Still, I'm ashamed to admit that until I was shown Lily and James' will I did believe that you had done the deed, though I didn't know that you hadn't received a trial. I just naively believed Albus when he said you were guilty."

"That's alright Professor, it's not your fault." He turned to Sherman. "I thought Harry was the last Potter."

"Of the British branch of the family he is. My great grandfather was the younger brother of Harry's great-great-great-great grandfather." He held out his hand. "Sherman Potter."

Sirius shook his hand, saying, "A pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter. I'm glad Harry didn't end up with Lily's sister. I never met a bigger shrew of a woman." He looked to McGonagall. "Unless you need to get Harry back to Hogwarts right away I'd like a chance to get reacquainted with my godson and get to know Mr. Potter."

McGonagall was about to give her permission but was interrupted by Dumbledore. "Unfortunately Mr. Potter does need to get back to Hogwarts immediately, as he does not have permission to be out of school. He will be serving a detention with me for leaving school grounds without permission…"

McGonagall cut him off saying, "And I am canceling that detention Albus. As both Deputy Headmistress and his Head of House I both gave him permission and quite obviously escorted him while off school grounds, so you have no grounds for issuing Mr. Potter a detention." She turned her back on Dumbledore and addressed Sirius and Sherman. "I would like to invite you both to Hogwarts so the two of you can get to know each other and Sirius can get reacquainted with Harry." Harry looked so excited at the prospect that Sirius and Sherman readily accepted Minerva's offer. Dumbledore tried to intervene but was thwarted by Fudge and Bones.

McGonagall led them to the Portkey point in the Ministry Atrium and the four of them Portkeyed away, reappearing just outside the main gates of the school. They walked up the path as Sirius told Harry and Sherman the story of how he met James, Remus and the rat on the Hogwarts Express. As they entered the Entrance Hall Minerva looked at the permanent Tempus spell over the doors to the Great Hall and realized that they were just in time for the start of lunch. She asked Sirius and the Potters if they would prefer to have lunch in her office or in the Great Hall. Sirius and Sherman just looked at Harry and asked him which he would prefer.

Harry thought for a minute and looked to see if any of his dorm mates were in the hall. He saw that all four of them were sitting at the Gryffindor table, as well as the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan just a few feet down. "Here, I think. I've told my dorm mates about Pappy and as long as he's here I'd like to introduce him to them." They started for where Harry's dorm mates were sitting. He also saw Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil seated nearby. "And Lavender and Parvati are two of the biggest gossips I've ever met, so you can be sure the news about your innocence, Padfoot." This last was spoken just as they past Fred and George, who immediately put their heads together and began a furious whispered conversation. Harry, Sirius and Sherman took seats across from Dean and Seamus, while Neville and Ron slid apart. He introduced Sherman and Sirius to his friends.

As the group ate, Sirius regaled them with stories of his days as a Gryffindor, focusing on the pranks that he and his fellow Marauders played, mainly on Slytherin. Sherman compared them to two of the officers he served with as CO of the 4077th in Korea, 'Hawkeye' Pierce and BJ Hunnicut. Sirius was in the middle of a story about a particularly funny prank they had played on Severus Snape.

"…Prongs was hiding under his cloak with a camera…" He was interrupted by George clearing his throat behind him.

"We're sorry to interrupt, but if you're really Padfoot, then you would know what to do with this." He held out a seemingly blank piece of parchment. Sirius's eyes widened as he took the parchment and set it on the table.

"I'll need to borrow a wand from someone. I'm afraid mine was snapped when I was sent to Azkaban…

"Without a trial," inserted Harry.

"Yes, without a trial, and I haven't had a chance to get a new one yet." Harry just pulled out his wand and handed it to Sirius without further comment. "Thanks, Harry." He touched the tip to the parchment saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Immediately ink lines began spreading across the parchment, some of them forming the words 'Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs proudly present The Marauders Map'. Fred and George dropped to their knees, bowing and chanting, "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!" Most of the hall began laughing at the twins antics.

"Oh, do get up," said Sirius. "I haven't seen this in a dog's age. Last I knew, Filch had caught the rat with it and confiscated." He eyed Fred and George. "Let me guess, you boys nicked it from Filch's office, didn't you?" The twins nodded. "Then I applaud your sneakiness and bravery. I can't call it stealing since it didn't belong to Filch in the first place and while I'm assuming that you put it to good use, it's time that it passed to a rightful heir of the Marauders. But first, a small change needs to be made." He touched the tip of Harry's wand to Wormtail's name and said, "Mr. Padfoot hearby removes Mr. Wormtail from the rolls of the Marauders for his betrayal of Prong to the tosser who called himself Lord Voldemort. May he be replaced by Pronglet, only son of Prongs, a true Marauder. So mote it be!" The map glowed briefly and Wormtail's name erased itself and the words reordered themselves to read 'Messrs. Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Pronglet proudly present the Marauders Map'. He handed Harry his wand and the map, saying, "Here you go, Pronglet. To clear it just tap it with your wand and say 'Mischief Managed'. Use it in good health."

Fred and George's eyes widened as they realized the implications of what Sirius had just said. "James Potter was Prongs?" asked Fred. Harry nodded as he put his wand away. The twins resumed their bowing and chanting, only this time they directed it at Harry instead of Sirius.

Sherman laughed and said, "If Pierce and Hunnicut weren't still alive I would swear that they had been reincarnated as these two."

"So Potter, you turn down friendship with a proper pureblood to associate with blood traitors and Mudbloods?"

Harry turned to see Malfoy sneering at them, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. He surreptitiously flicked a finger at them, casting the same hex he had used on the Express. A moment later all three of them gave a rather wet sounding fart. "I told you on the train Malformed, I don't associate with filth." Malfoy's face went red with fury and he drew his wand, a curse on his lips. Before he could cast his wand was summoned by McGonagall, who had started down from the head table as soon as she saw Malfoy heading for the Gryffindor table.

"Ten points from Slytherin for drawing your wand on another student and another five points and a detention with Mr. Filch for your language Mr. Malfoy. Now explain yourself!"

"Potter hexed us!"

"Mr. Potter's wand is not out but yours was Mr. Malfoy."

Harry drew his wand and held it out handle first to McGonagall. "Feel free to check my wand Professor, even though I doubt Malfoy will believe even that."

"Very well Mr. Potter." She cast Priori Incantatum on Harry's wand and found that the last spell cast was a tooth cleaning charm that she assumed Harry had used that morning. "Even if he had cast that on you, a tooth cleaning charm would hardly be considered grounds for drawing your wand on him." She handed him his wand and ordered him and his bookends back to the Slytherin table. She looked at Harry knowingly. "After lunch you might want to show your grandfather around the school, Mr. Potter." She leaned down and whispered in Harry's ear. "I'm pretty sure that you did do something to Mr. Malfoy, results of the test on your wand not withstanding. Five points for not getting caught." With that she returned to her place at the head table.

After lunch, Harry did as McGonagall suggested and gave Sherman a tour of the castle and grounds, liberally assisted by Sirius who knew quite a bit more about the castle than Harry did, as well as the map. They paid a visit to Hagrid, who told Sirius that he never believed that he had betrayed Harry's parents. Hagrid's boarhound Fang was a bit leery of Sirius until he transformed into Padfoot and the two of them chased Harry around for a few minutes while Hagrid and Sherman stood and laughed.

"So glad you're amused at me getting ganged up on," he said with a mock pout, which just caused them to laugh even harder. Sirius transformed back and joined in the laughter.

"You know it's all in good fun, pup," he said, ruffling Harry's hair. "C'mon, let's go show your granddad the Common Room.

"Have you found a place to practice yet Harry?" asked Sherman.

"Practice?" asked Sirius.

"I play the piano," said Harry. "I usually play in the Common Room. Most people don't mind when I do, and sometimes Fred and George's roommate Lee Jordan even joins me for a duet." The three of them reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, who immediately recognized Sirius from his days at Hogwarts and once Harry explained that Sirius was innocent of betraying his parents and that Sherman was a member of his family she accepted the password from him and swung open to let them in. He saw Lee in a chair by the fireplace talking to Fred and George. He asked him if he'd mind doing another duet with him for Sirius and Sherman. Lee agreed and the two of them ran up to their respective dorms to grab their instruments.

Harry enlarged his piano and conferred with Lee on what they were going to do. They made a decision and Lee conjured a stool for himself to sit on while Harry settled in front of his piano. He cracked his knuckles and started to play.

"Making your way in the world today takes everything you got…"

Sherman smiled as he heard it opening to one of his favorite shows and started singing along. He wondered why Lee wasn't playing yet, but his answer came a few moments later as Harry came to the refrain of the song.

"Sometimes you want to go  
>Where everybody knows your name,<br>And they're always glad you came;  
>You want to be where you can see,<br>Our troubles are all the same;  
>You want to be where everybody knows your name."<p>

They finished to applause and cheers from the few students that were present and after Harry shrunk his piano and returned it to his dorm he pulled Dean and Seamus into a game of poker, as well as Sirius and Sherman. They played for about an hour before Sherman said he needed to get going as he wanted to find a place to stay in London now that he was Harry's proxy on the Wizengamot. Sirius told him not to worry too much as he could always stay with him at the Black family home a Number 12 Grimmauld Place, though he wasn't sure how well it had been maintained since his parents death. Sherman took him up on his offer as it would allow the two of them to get to know each other and would save Sherman the trouble of finding a suitable place in the London real estate market. They said their goodbyes to Harry and his friends in the Entrance Hall and left to make the walk to Hogsmeade to use the Floo in the Three Broomsticks while Harry and his friends went to have dinner in the Great Hall.

None of them could have foreseen the events that were to come in less than three days.

A/N: Another chapter down… 50 points to whoever can guess what event I'm referring to at the end.


	12. Tragedy

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

**Chapter 12: Tragedy**

Sirius and Sherman Apparated to 12 Grimmauld Place. Sirius placed his hand on the snake motif door knocker and allowed the wards to recognize him as the Head of House. The lock clicked and the door swung open. The interior was dimly lit, but there was enough light for them to see that the place was filthy.

"Ugh. Looks like our family's old house elf may have finally bit the dust. Let's see… Kreacher!"

A wizened house elf dressed in a filthy tea towel appeared with a loud crack. Before he could speak, a curtain covering a large painting on the wall flew open and began shrieking.

"Who disturbs the Ancient and Noble House of Black?"

"Hello, Mother. I would say it's nice to see you but that would be a lie," replied Sirius.

"You! How dare you return to this house? Kreacher, remove this filth from my house!"

Kreacher snapped his fingers but nothing happened. "Kreacher can't mistress. Kreacher's magic won't allow it. Kreacher doesn't understand."

"It's simple Kreacher. Mother may have blasted my name off the family tapestry, but I was never formally disinherited. I, Sirius Orion Black, by right of blood and magic am the rightful Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. So mote it be!" There was a brief flash of light around Sirius' right hand and an ornate ring appeared on his ring finger. Kreacher started wailing and sobbing. "Enough! I am the new Lord Black and you will behave as such. Go clean yourself up and you will wear an appropriate uniform. This is not clothes so don't think you're going to get out of it that way. After that you will move mother's portrait into the tapestry room. I won't have her shrieking at my guests. This is Sherman Potter, he is the guardian of my godson Harry. He will be staying here since he will be serving on the Wizengamot until Harry comes of age. You will obey him in the same way you would any other member of the Black family. Now go!"

Kreacher grumbled a bit under his breath before disappearing with a soft pop. He turned to Sherman and apologized for Kreacher's behavior as they went up the stairs to the library. The two of them sat for hours trading stories about Harry, Sirius about Harry as a baby and Sherman about him growing up in the US. Over the next two days they made a habit of visiting the neighborhood pub for lunch and dinner as Sherman wanted to keep up with the Muggle news. He knew he wouldn't get much US news until he could arrange with Gringotts to have a magical edition of USA Today delivered, but he figured that the BBC would be good for international news.

-000-

_September 11, 5:00PM GMT_

When Sherman and Sirius walked into The Tin Whistle for dinner they were surprised that the usually lively patrons were either talking in hushed tones or staring at the television in stunned silence. At the bottom of one half of the split screen a banner read 'Live, Washington, DC' while the other bore one saying 'Live, New York City'. Through the thick, black smoke that clouded both images, Sherman could make out the Pentagon on the Washington side of the screen and wondered what could have happened in both Washington and New York to cause such devastation. As they move closer to the television, they hear the BBC news anchor speaking.

"…You can see the remains of the two main towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The north tower collapsed approximately an hour ago with the south tower following about 30 minutes later. Each had been struck by an apparently hijacked airliner. A third plane has also apparently struck the Pentagon building, the nerve center of the American military in the nation's capital of Washington, DC."

Sherman turned to Sirius, ashen faced. He pulled out a battered pocket watch from his pocket and his face fell even further after looking at it. He closed his eyes, fighting back tears.

"Sherm? What's going on?" asked Sirius.

Sherman didn't answer, just turned and walked out of the pub. He walked to the park across the street and sat on a bench, his head in his hands. He looked up when Sirius sat down beside him and lay a hand on his shoulder.

"I can tell something bad has happened. What were those buildings and what happened to them?"

Sherman just handed Sirius his watch and said, "There should be three hands on that watch, one for Harry and one for each of his parents. Robert and Irene were in New York for a conference at the World Trade Center." He paused as Sirius put two and two together and realized the implications of what he just said.

"Merlin, we have to tell Harry." He helped Sherman to his feet before looking around and calling the Knight Bus. "Come on, the Knight Bus may not be as fast as Apparating, but I don't think either of us would be able to do so right now, at least not without splinching ourselves. We could Floo to Hogsmeade, but the Floo at Grimmauld isn't hooked up yet. This will get us to right outside the gates." The violently purple triple-decker bus arrived with a bang.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike and…"

"Stow it kid," growled Sirius, interrupting Stan's spiel. "This is an emergency. We need you to get us to Hogwarts extra quick." He handed Stan two Galleons before helping Sherman on to the bus and in to one of the armchairs right behind the driver. Stan's eyes bugged out at the overpaid fare but didn't comment as he recognized them from Saturday's special edition of the Daily Prophet. He closed the door before banging on the glass behind the driver. "Hogwarts Ern, double quick and no intermediate stops!" The bus took off with a bang and arrived at the main gates of the school five minutes later. Sirius and Sherman got off the bus and began hurrying up to the castle.

"Harry should be coming down to dinner shortly. We'll just wait outside the Great Hall for him," said Sirius. Sherman just nodded numbly. They had been waiting about five minutes before Sirius heard a hated voice.

"What are you doing here Black? Is your brain so addled from the Dementors that you've forgotten that you are no longer a student here?"

Sirius turned around to face Snape. "Snivellus. I don't know what Dumbledore was thinking when he decided to hire you to teach here as your people skills haven't improved a bit. As for why Col. Potter and I are here, it is none of your business." Snape just sneered at them before stalking into the Great Hall, his robes billowing behind him.

"Who was that?" asked Sherman.

"That was Severus Snape," replied Sirius.

"I take it that the two of you don't get along?"

"Nope. Dumbledore must be senile to think that he would make a good teacher. The way he treated Harry in the first class he had with him being a perfect example of his unsuitability."

"That is why I am going to be asking the Board of Governors to place him on probation," said McGonagall. "But I don't think the two of you came all the way to Scotland to talk about Severus' teaching methods or lack thereof."

"You would be right, Minerva," answered Sherman. "We're here because we need to speak to Harry. I'm afraid we have some bad news. How much do you know about non-magical technology? Transportation in particular."

"A bit," she replied. "Why do you ask?"

"A few hours ago, two commercial jetliners were flown into the side of the two main towers of the World Trade Center. A short time later both buildings collapsed, killing probably several hundred people, including Harry's parents who were there for a business conference."

"Merciful Merlin," gasped McGonagall. "Who would do such a thing?"

"We don't know who exactly, but I am almost certain that this was an act of terrorism."

Minerva frowned and waved for them to follow her. She led them up to Gryffindor Tower, and after giving the password to the Fat Lady, ushered them into the Common Room. She spotted Dean and Seamus standing near the stairs to the boy's dorms. "Mr. Thomas, Mr. Finnegan, do you know where Mr. Potter is?" Both boys were slightly confused, but merely told her that Harry was in the shower because there had been a slight mishap in Herbology. She asked them to please inform him that his grandfather and godfather need to speak with him and that it is rather urgent. Dean ran up the stairs and stuck his head in the bathroom.

"Hey, Harry!"

"Yeah?"

"McGonagall sent me to tell you that your granddad and Padfoot need to talk to you and that it's urgent. They're down in the Common Room."

"Okay, I'll be down as soon as I can." Harry wondered what could be so important to cause Pappy and Padfoot to come back to the school so soon. They had just been here on Saturday after all. Nonetheless, he hurried through his shower and got dressed without bothering to dry his hair. When he arrived in the Common Room, he noticed that both of them had grave looks on their faces. But what unnerved him the most was seeing a similar look on the face of his Head of House. He looked at his grandfather and said, "Dean said you and Padfoot wanted to talk to me?"

Sherman nodded and replied, "Indeed we did Harry." He looked at McGonagall. "Minerva, is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

"You're welcome to use my office. It's just down the hall." She turned and led the three of them from the Common Room to her office. After conjuring an additional chair she turned to leave but Sherman stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Please stay Professor. I think Harry will need all the support he can get." They all sat down, Sirius next to Harry while Sherman and McGonagall sat facing them. "There is no easy way to say this, so I'll be blunt. A few hours ago, several planes were hijacked. One was crashed into the side of the Pentagon, while two others were flown into the sides of the Twin Towers." Sherman's voice broke as he continued. "Hundreds of people died and hundreds more were injured. A short time later, both towers collapsed."

Harry gasped as the implications of what his grandfather was telling him. He knew that his parents were supposed to be at a business conference at the World Trade Center. He did some quick arithmetic and realized that his parents would have been in one of the towers when they were hit, and depending on where the planes hit might have been trapped. "Mom and Dad?"

Sherman pulled out his pocket watch and showed it to Harry. "I'm afraid they didn't make it, Harry," he said roughly, fighting back tears. He slid his chair around next to Harry and put his arm around his shoulders as Harry started crying. Harry turned toward him and buried his face in Sherman's shoulder. Sherman just sat and held him until he cried himself out. When Harry pulled away and looked up at him he asked, "Feel better?"

Harry nodded, sniffling. Sirius handed him a handkerchief and he blew his nose before asking, "What's going to happen now?"

"Not much can actually be done until the non-magical government confirms that your parents are in fact deceased. I do know that they left everything to you in their will and that they wanted your cousin Eddie to be your legal guardian until you're of age."

"I may not have any legal claim to you pup, but I want you to know that I will be here for you. I failed you ten years ago when I stupidly went after the rat instead of taking care of you like I should have. I don't intend on making that mistake again. Where ever you end up, I'll be there for you."

"Thanks Padfoot. I'll probably be spending most of the summer helping Eddie and Uncle Walter on the farm."

"I don't want to throw even more bad news out, but I'm afraid that Albus may try to use this to try and force Harry to go to the Dursleys," said McGonagall. "I know he doesn't have a legal leg to stand on, but that's never stopped him before. I'll run interference as best I can, but you can be sure that as soon as he gets wind of what has happened to Harry's parents he will do whatever he can to try and keep him here in Britain."

Sirius looked at Sherman and said, "I think we need to talk to the Minister and do some lobbying with certain members of the Wizengamot. Maybe we can defang him." Sherman nodded his agreement and he and Sirius took their leave, telling Harry and Minerva that they would be in touch and cautioning Harry to be careful who they told about what had happened.

A/N: This chapter was a real bear to write. Like many Americans, I still remember exactly where I was and what I was doing on 9/11. Those events likely won't have too much impact on this story beyond what they already have, but no guarantees.


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